The right-wing Cuban-American community in Miami is creating serious problems in Florida again.  Now, they achieved the goal that the state’s legislature has agreed to prohibit business with companies related to Cuba.

This has caused a storm of denials to that legislation of the two main partners in this area of ​​Florida, Brazil and Canada.  Observers in the countries involved summarize what is happening: their corporate interests are negatively affected by the lawmakers of Miami-Dade County who authorized the project.

They also say that one of the balances is the politically difficult situation imposed on Florida’s governor, Rick Scott, a well known promoter of business.

Lobbyists who influence work for companies told reporters in Miami that they have made their concerns known to Scott, who has until May 5^th to approve the legislation, or let the measure become law without his signature.

The Canadian Ambassador to the U.S telephoned the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Florida, Mark Wilson, to express his concern that this law affects many of its companies in Florida and Cuba.

In this regard, the chairman of the Florida House said he knew that Canadian firms will not make new investments in the State for fear of setbacks. 

Canada is the second largest trading partner of Florida, surpassed by Brazil, which already expressed similar concerns to Washington.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry of Brazil, Fernando Pimentel, addressed the issue during a meeting with U.S Secretary of Commerce John Brison.

When the bill was put to the vote by Florida’s lawmakers, it came forward virtually unopposed.
One of the promoters of the initiative, Michael Bileca, told reporters that he was surprised it had no resistance.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Mark Wilson, said he didn’t think many people actually believed the legislation would pass, saying that people are concerned that a State is establishing its own foreign policy.

There is an element in all this that should be noted, and that is the not so hidden role of right-wing forces in the Cuban-American community in southern Florida.  Their plots continue to tarnish the image of U.S.administrations, as they drive U.S.foreign policy from Miami, rather than Washington.

In another recent article published on the Cubasí digital website, specialist Atilio Borón rightly points out that the grievance is not against Spainor the Spanish people, but with its bourgeoisie, which exploits and bleeds the people both inside and outside of Spain.

It recognizes that the feud between the Argentinean government and the Spanish company Repsol-YPF has unleashed a virulent reaction from ultra-conservative Spanish government officials. Statements by Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo, by the Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria, and the Secretary of State of Spain to the European Union, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, reveal that these royal officials still have not realized the outcome of the battle of Ayacucho in 1824, which finished demolishing the remains of the Spanish empire in that part of the world.  

Both their staging --hardened faces full of anger, high-sounding phrases, Garcia-Margallo’s trigger-finger at the ready-- as well as the threatening content of their statements, especially the ones by Mendez de Vigo, saying that Argentina would become an international wicked pariah that would suffer awful consequences if Repsol-YPF’s interests are affected, are a timely reminder that, unfortunately, the worst traditions of Spanish colonialism are still alive and raise their ugly head whenever they feel that one of its former colonies goes astray.

The symbolic violence unleashed over recent days is part of the sordid story present in contemporary Spain, troubled by a deep economic crisis and by the phenomenal reversal experienced in the field of civil rights and civil liberties. Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced his intention to monitor and local social networks, so that any call for protests or political demonstrations of any kind made published on them will be considered a criminal offense.From this initiative, the Spanish government may prosecute those who, in its dangerous delusions, as described as radical groups involved in brand-new forms of urban warfare.All this in an effort to prevent victims of brutal neo-liberal adjustment plans driven by the Popular Party may resist and fight against the injustice of a project solely and exclusively concerned to safeguard the interests of capital, not the people's welfare.Nevertheless, there are many who still naively confuse a system capable of producing these samples of despotism with democracy.

Spain is not a gang of professional looters, worthy descendants of those who committed in our lands the greatest genocide in history, protected by the evil alliance between the cross and the sword.Spainis not business interests eager to make huge profits, as they have done in Latin America and the Caribbean under the protection of their political patrons, whether they be Felipe González, José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy. Spain is not that nauseating and parasitic crown sunk in a morass of scandals that the local media tries to hide. For us, Spain is the poetry of Miguel Hernández, Rafael Alberti and Federico García Lorca, Pablo Picasso's paintings, the music of Manuel de Falla and Pablo Casals, the philosophy of Manuel Sacristán Luzón and my unforgettable teacher Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez.Spainis the extraordinary work of its Republicans exiled in Mexico: Wenceslao Roces, José Gaos and Eugenio Ímaz, among others, eminent Spanish translators of The Capital and other invaluable texts of Karl Marx and many other authors of classical thought. Spain, finally, is the indomitable heroism of the Passion Movement and the anarchists and communists who fought against Franco’s barbarism, which Rajoy, Aznar and the PP are the undisputed heirs. These lunatics, late medieval spell survivors, represent the worst of Spain today. They are but the watchdogs of the filibusters in suits and ties who sow misery inside and outside Spain.

Therefore, the struggle is against that Spain, not against the Spanish people, much less against the other noble Spain, with which we feel definitely united.

The Cuban adult literacy method “Yo si puedo” (Yes I Can) continues to make history in Haiti, where 99 thousand 672 people have learned read and write from September 2011 to February 2012.

This program, financed by Venezuela, began at the end of 2009, but it was momentarily interrupted by the earthquake that took place 2 years ago. The preceding aspects of this program lie in the fundamental role that Cuban educators played in the Haitian community.

Currently, the Cuban Team of 14 members is focusing its attention on the development of the 4th stage of work, with the purpose of teaching 67 thousand 500 people from 10 departments.

The achievement of this program has been challenging due to the fact that Haiti is a nation that speaks a completely different language and also has been devastated by the earthquake. Haiti continues to try to recover from this catastrophe, but Cuba has also done its bit in order to assist the recovering of the country.

The Cuban disposition to help and the persistence of many Haitians to better themselves have made the success of this program possible.

It is a great satisfaction to see the sacrifice and persistence of  the students, especially woman who sometimes attend classes with their babies.

The continuity of this campaign has meant a lot for Haitian people who are aware of the solidarity and tenacity of Cuban collaborators in the education and health sector.

The outcome of this program has been very positive not only in Haiti, but also in several other communities where it has been implemented.

Until now around 5 million people in the world has benefited from this program. Within the efforts Cuba makes to extend education to the different national communities are campaigns developed in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, which declared these territories free of illiteracy.

This method is recognized by national institutions and figures and has also been extended to other countries of  Latin America like Mexico, Peru and Honduras and other regions  o the world.

The program “Yo si puedo” ( Yes I Can) who also have a Braille variation for people with disabilities and has been extended also to the Spanish citizens of Sevilla.

Humanism and solidarity are the distinctive features of this method created by the initiative of the historical Cuban revolution leader Fidel Castro as a contribution to the world from Cuba, a country that since 1961, eliminated illiteracy among its people.