NEWS: Massive Anti-USA Protest in Cuba

The pictures are breathtaking, thousands upon thousands of Cubans marching in an Anti-USA protest ordered by Fidel Castro. The Anti-US protest follows the recent U.S. measures to cripple the Cuban economy and force Fidel Castro out of office. The U.S. measures, announced last week, are meant to reduce hard currency on the island by limiting how often Cuban-Americans can visit relatives from once every year to once every three years. It also decreases how much they can spend and prohibiting money transfers in excess of $50 a day.

Cuba Holds Massive March To Protest U.S. Squeeze On Island
Headlines of state-run newspapers Thursday urged Cubans to march along Havana's Malecon coastal boulevard against the "fascist policies" of President Bush, promising the event would be "the largest revolutionary demonstration of our history."

Buses were to start picking up participants early Friday and those living outside of the capital were urged to arrive Thursday night "to avoid the risk of arriving late," said the Communist Party youth daily, Juventud Rebelde.

The Labor Ministry freed most state employees from work for the day.

The march was announced Tuesday, a day after the government stunned Cubans by suddenly halting most of the dollar sales they have come to count on due to the scarcity of many products in Cuban pesos. Only food, personal hygiene products and gasoline were exempt.

They were "ordered to do this" , must be Castro is trying to get their minds off of the currency clamp down he also ordered.

The U.S. actions mentioned seem somewhat mild in that even at a $50 dollar a day limit on money transfers an individual still could get $18,250 sent to them - Whats the current household income in Cuba in U.S. dollar equivelent?

Be assured this entire event is carefully staged by Fidel Castro. Workers were given the day off and must attend the protests. Buses were sent to pick up folks to assure that there would be maximum presence to "protest". No one in Cuba has a choice in whether they can or cannot participate in the protest.

$50 per day spending limit for persons vacationing in Cuba.
Money transfers are limited to $1,200 per year.

Based on the commission's report, President Bush restricted family visits by Cuban-Americans to once every three years instead of the current one-per-year, and lowered the authorized per diem amount for a family visit to $50, from $164 now.

Bush retained the $1,200-a-year limit on dollar transfers that Cuban-American families can send to the island, but limited those who could receive the transfers to immediate family members � excluding even uncles and cousins.

link

Sorry for this short answer but here goes, Basically by the fact that they are compulsory - then they are truly meaningless and irrelevent to anybody outside of Cuba.

Anybody know what the average income is in Cuba?


[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Phoenix]

don't know the average income, but the majority of Cubans don't pay rent, get free college education and free medical care.

Originally posted by PhoenixAnybody know what the average income is in Cuba?

Per capita GDP is $ 2,300 so income is less than that.
There may be undeclared income from hotel workers though, like tips and such.

www.photius.com...

thought it might be good to add another perspective on the Cuba crackdown...fascinating article, definitely recommended reading.

Senseless crackdown on Cuba
The enforcement branch of the Treasury Department has beefed up its anti-Cuba surveillance, devoting 21 full-time employees to enforcing the Cuban embargo and travel ban. Only four track the finances of Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.

Cuban officials have warned the measures could be a possible prelude to stronger U.S. attacks, possibly even an invasion.
Castro's statement at the Protest

"This country could be exterminated... erased from the face of the earth," Castro told the crowd. But he said it would never fall into "the humiliating condition of a neo-colony of the United States."

He said that if conflict comes, Bush "will be thousands of kilometers away and I will be in the first line of defense, ready to die in defense of my people."

Castro accused the United States of fighting "wars of conquest to seize the markets and resources of the world" while Cuba, he said, was sending abroad thousands of doctors to save lives.

He insisted that Bush had "no morality nor any right at all to speak of liberty, democracy and human rights" and he said of Bush's 2000 election victory, "all the world knows it was fraudulent."

Posters portrayed the U.S. president wearing a Hitler mustache and accompanied by a Nazi swastika.

In a relatively early fallout of the Iraqi prisoner scandal, posters carried photos of abused Iraqis overwritten with the words: "This would never happen in Cuba."

Castro referred briefly to the scandal, saying the tortures had "stupefied the world" and he insisted that Cuba had never practiced such torture.



[Edited on 5-14-2004 by worldwatcher]

Worldwatcher...
Your posts in this thread are refreshing to me due to the fact that you have made an effort to cover a wide spectrum of viewpoints on this subject - providing a collective viewpoint in an objective manner.

Regarding the subject at hand...
I find it humorous that Fidel throws this massive protest in the streets of Havana and the US yawns and ignores him, continueing to stare at pics of naked Iraqis doing stupid human tricks for some skankwhore US soldier who looks like a young Slobodan Miloslovic...

Damn, I'm too cynical for it to be a Friday...

Uhhh...yeah. Castro criticizes the US for it's 'interrogation techniques'.

Yes folks, it was all staged completely. The same folks you saw protesting on CNN will be on an inner tube raft just trying to make it up here next week.

Yes, I can testify that the Cuban people can see beyond the lies of Castro, althou there are some Cubans that are still communists/socialists and they work for Castro, most of the populace knows that he is a tyrant.

The Cuban people are made to go to Castro's speeches, wave with Cuban flags and yell encouragement when Castro's speech ends. Its all a farce, I remember when I was a little kid of 4-5 years old and had to do this also.

Most of the Cuban people know that the United States is a far better country to live at and has a better government than Fidel's. This is why hundreds of thousands have died trying to get to the States anyway they can, trying to evade that tyranical man. Many Cubans have died eaten by sharks, lost and drowned at sea trying to make it to the States.

The new sanctions of the United States on Cuba are taking away much of the income that kept that tyrant rich. Althou it is also hurting the people, I do hope that this is the catalyst to overthrow the government of Cuba, to overthrow socialism/communism.

Sorry for the short reply but it painfully obvious that Castro would have made a better choreographer than a country's president / world leader / dictator.

Originally posted by Phoenix
Sorry for this short answer but here goes, Basically by the fact that they are compulsory - then they are truly meaningless and irrelevent to anybody outside of Cuba.

Anybody know what the average income is in Cuba?
4 dollars per month

[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Phoenix]

The pictures are breathtaking, thousands upon thousands of Cubans marching in an Anti-USA protest ......ordered by Fidel Castro.

now i have highlighted two phrases.

anyone wanna guess which prhase they'll pay more attention to??? i'll give you a hint it wont be the one with castro in it.



worldwatcher...i respect you and your posts but i have a question in regards to this post you made...

don't know the average income, but the majority of Cubans don't pay rent, get free college education and free medical care.

if they have all these free things which in theory makes cuba sound like a utopia then when in gods name are there so many cuban "exiles" in miami? why is almost every person who leaves cuba glad to be rid of it? why are so many cubans outside of cuba trying to get their families out? why have so many cubans risk their lives some times more than once, to get here on a inner tube or a makeshift raft?

also seems to me if they didnt like america they'd protest without being forced to. if you were agaisnt someone, something or a country you wouldnt hesitate to protest it would you? or would you wait for your "leader" to tell you to protest?

He said that if conflict comes, Bush "will be thousands of kilometers away and I will be in the first line of defense, ready to die in defense of my people."

now i've heard lines similar to this, now does anyone have a clue who said them? oh yes the guy we pulled out of a hole in the ground hiding like a coward. can castro even control his own bowels at this point? i seriously doubt he'd be first in line for anything other than the bathroom or going to bed at his current age.

Castro accused the United States of fighting "wars of conquest to seize the markets and resources of the world" while Cuba, he said, was sending abroad thousands of doctors to save lives.

lol where are they? any articles to back up this delusional claim? more like the doctors are leaving cuba to save lives elsewhere, along with their own in the process...this is probsably closer to the truth.

He insisted that Bush had "no morality nor any right at all to speak of liberty, democracy and human rights" and he said of Bush's 2000 election victory, "all the world knows it was fraudulent."

lol like saddam and his election.

castro was never elected himself. how many elections has he held??? yeah castro is a great man to speak of democracy and elections.

In a relatively early fallout of the Iraqi prisoner scandal, posters carried photos of abused Iraqis overwritten with the words: "This would never happen in Cuba."

anyone care to point out the irony in this???? its too easy for me to do it.

Castro referred briefly to the scandal, saying the tortures had "stupefied the world" and he insisted that Cuba had never practiced such torture.

that the world knows of...but i've heard the stories. oh yes i've heard of SOME of the reports of what he and his regime have done to cubans.


sorry world watcher i applaud your effort though...no offense is meant in anything i've said but castro is full of it and my heart goes out to those still under his rule.

prankmonkey I take offence but I don't understand what you are trying to get at?

I clearly stated in the original post and another following it that the event was completely staged by Castro.

as to this:
quote:
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don't know the average income, but the majority of Cubans don't pay rent, get free college education and free medical care.

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if they have all these free things which in theory makes cuba sound like a utopia then when in gods name are there so many cuban "exiles" in miami? why is almost every person who leaves cuba glad to be rid of it? why are so many cubans outside of cuba trying to get their families out? why have so many cubans risk their lives some times more than once, to get here on a inner tube or a makeshift raft?

Why does anyone from any third world country flee their homeland to come the US....it's for a better life. But why is their life so horrible? you can't blame it all on Castro, you must share some of the blame on the policies of the United States that hamper the development of the country which in turn negatively affects the citizens of Cuba. So since we won't allow them to get what they need in Cuba, they risk their lives to come here.

and I never meant to make Cuba sound like Utopia, I am just stating the facts. Healthcare is free in Cuba, but it doesn't mean it is up to par with healthcare found in the US or elsewhere in the world, due to embargos, there is a lack of medical supplies needed to provide a good standard of treatment and preventive measures for the people of cuba.

In Cuba, rent is calculated in relation to ones income, and after a number of years of paying rent, you become the owner of your home."
can't find the link at the moment but about 85% of Cubans own their own homes.

Education in Cuba is free and instructional materials are relatively low in cost...but students are more like robots and soldiers being controlled as to what they can learn.

so yes these do seem like good things, but to each good thing there is a bad side, like the fact that government of Cuba still owns and controls all aspects of life in the island.

I make no excuses for Castro and do not attempt to portray him as a good guy, he is and will continue to be a dictator. my beef with this Cuba issue is that the embargos and sanctions that the US has enforced on the country has hurt the people of Cuba more than they hurt Castro.

Originally posted by worldwatcher
Why does anyone from any third world country flee their homeland to come the US....it's for a better life. But why is their life so horrible? you can't blame it all on Castro, you must share some of the blame on the policies of the United States that hamper the development of the country which in turn negatively affects the citizens of Cuba. So since we won't allow them to get what they need in Cuba, they risk their lives to come here.

and I never meant to make Cuba sound like Utopia, I am just stating the facts. Healthcare is free in Cuba, but it doesn't mean it is up to par with healthcare found in the US or elsewhere in the world, due to embargos, there is a lack of medical supplies needed to provide a good standard of treatment and preventive measures for the people of cuba.

In Cuba, rent is calculated in relation to ones income, and after a number of years of paying rent, you become the owner of your home."
can't find the link at the moment but about 85% of Cubans own their own homes.

I make no excuses for Castro and do not attempt to portray him as a good guy, he is and will continue to be a dictator. my beef with this Cuba issue is that the embargos and sanctions that the US has enforced on the country has hurt the people of Cuba more than they hurt Castro.

Worldwatcher, it seems that you have been brainwashed a bit. Fidel changed and took from the people properties, and he made changes that started to affect the Cuban people before the U.S started any embargos. There is more than enough food in Cuba, but FIDEL, not the U.S, exports that food to make more money for himself and those that are in power with him.

Castro took most of the land that Cubans had, he just left them with smaller parcels, mostly just houses and in many instances he took the houses from people to give to those that worked with him, and that are still communists.

Cuba is the way it is becayse of Fidel Castro, not because of any policies that the U.S has done. If Castro wanted the people to be fed, or to repair the streets, take care of the trash that is piling higher and higher in the streets, and for people's homes to be repaired (since Cubans don't get paid enough to repair them themselves) he could do all this. But Fidel prefers to get richer and richer and let his own people starve.

Castro and the communist/socialist regime is the problem in Cuba, not the U.S or any policies the administration has done to throw that tyrant from power.

Fidel killed his opposition or jailed them indefinetly, one of my uncles thought that at first Fidel was trully working for the betterment of Cuba and he was a captain in the military, as time went by and he saw what Castro was doing he, alongside others, questioned what Castro was doing. They were jailed or killed, my uncle spent 35 years in prison, he was beaten often, and lived for a long time in his own filth.

Cubans leave the country to get away from the political tyrant and to be able to live a decent life and eat everyday. There are times that Cubans don't have anything to eat for days and even weeks, a whole family is "sold" a roll of toilet paper for a month, when there is any to be sold, and 12 ounces of meat per person every 6 months. Thats what is happening in Cuba and it is because of Castro.

My fathers side of the family came here (to NY) from Cuba right after he got into power...the reason...he raped them of any $$ they had...so my grandparents decided it'd be best to up and leave while it was possible...I think Castro started off with the right idea...then the typical result...power went to his head...and the rest is history...im looking forward to the day when theres a Castro-free Cuba...

Cuba was the jewel of the caribbean, and probably the world. Before Castro was in power "every family in Cuba had a tv", and most people had cars, something that in that time not every American family had.

People, mostly the farmers and the poorer sections, saw that there were families that had more than them, and they wanted this. Castro told them he would make sure everyone would have the same things, and he kept this promise, but in keeping this promise he lowered the standard of living in Cuba lower even than what the farmers had before he was in power. Even the poor in Cuba before Castro, lived better than most of the population now.

Most of the people in Cuba were immigrants from Spain, my own family went to Cuba from Spain because of the Spanish civil war, Cuba was an Spanish colony, althou there were also many Americans in Cuba.