Country Profile: Cuba - American Memory - Library of Congress
Country Profile: Cuba - American Memory - Library of Congress
Country Profile: Cuba - American Memory - Library of Congress
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<strong>Library</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> – Federal Research Division <strong>Country</strong> <strong>Pr<strong>of</strong>ile</strong>: <strong>Cuba</strong>, September 2006<br />
<strong>Cuba</strong> has several dozen online regional newspapers. The only national daily paper is Granma,<br />
the <strong>of</strong>ficial organ <strong>of</strong> the PCC. A weekly version, Granma International, is published in English,<br />
Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German plus is available online. Havana residents also have<br />
their own weekly, Havana-oriented paper, Tribuna de La Habana. The weekly Juventud Rebelde<br />
is the <strong>of</strong>ficial organ <strong>of</strong> the Communist Youth Union. The biweekly Bohemia is the country’s only<br />
general-interest newsmagazine. <strong>Cuba</strong>’s <strong>of</strong>ficial news agency is Prensa Latina, which publishes<br />
several magazines, including <strong>Cuba</strong> Internacional, directed at the foreign audience.<br />
In 2005 <strong>Cuba</strong>ns had at least 3.9 million radio receivers and 3 million television sets, and the<br />
country had 169 AM, 55 FM, and 58 TV broadcasting stations. The <strong>Cuba</strong>n Institute <strong>of</strong> Radio and<br />
Television serves as the government’s administrative outlet for broadcasting. Of the six national<br />
FM radio stations, the top three are Radio Progreso, Radio Reloj, and Radio Rebelde, in that<br />
order. Two other national radio networks that also provide news and entertainment are Radio<br />
Musical Nacional (CMBF) and Radio Enciclopedia. Another station, Radio Taíno, promotes<br />
tourism. The <strong>Cuba</strong>n government also operates Radio Havana, the <strong>of</strong>ficial <strong>Cuba</strong>n international<br />
short-wave radio service. The <strong>Cuba</strong>n television system is made up <strong>of</strong> two networks: <strong>Cuba</strong>visión<br />
and Tele Rebelde. <strong>Cuba</strong>’s restriction <strong>of</strong> foreign broadcast media is one reason the U.S.<br />
government has sponsored radio and television broadcasting into <strong>Cuba</strong> through Radio and TV<br />
Martí, much <strong>of</strong> which is jammed.<br />
Internet access is restricted by prohibitive cost, by very limited accessibility, by the relatively<br />
small (albeit rapidly expanding) number <strong>of</strong> personal computers, and by government efforts to<br />
control information access. Local post <strong>of</strong>fices provide public access to e-mail, but many facilities<br />
do not provide international access. Access to the World Wide Web is mainly restricted to<br />
government <strong>of</strong>fices, research and educational institutes, and large companies.<br />
Foreign Relations: With the demise <strong>of</strong> the Soviet Union and the end <strong>of</strong> the Cold War, <strong>Cuba</strong><br />
ended its long-time efforts to export Marxist revolution and adopted a pragmatic foreign policy<br />
that is designed to expand <strong>Cuba</strong>’s international relations and trade, as well as tourism and<br />
investment in <strong>Cuba</strong>. <strong>Cuba</strong> is no longer the major diplomatic player in the developing world that<br />
it was during the Cold War, when it was able to send troops to support revolutionary movements<br />
or regimes. Nevertheless, it still has the largest diplomatic representation <strong>of</strong> any Latin <strong>American</strong><br />
country: 177 embassies and three consulates worldwide, and it continues to play an active role in<br />
its relations with the developing world, serving as host for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)<br />
Summit on September 11–16, 2006, and taking over chairmanship <strong>of</strong> the NAM from Malaysia.<br />
<strong>Cuba</strong>n relations with Russia remain cautious. <strong>Cuba</strong>’s diplomatic efforts are more focused on<br />
deepening links with major trade partners, namely China and Venezuela. <strong>Cuba</strong> also has sought<br />
closer ties with Vietnam and North Korea. As its trade ties with China and Venezuela have<br />
increased, <strong>Cuba</strong> has shown declining interest in wooing the European Union (EU), which,<br />
despite being an outspoken critic <strong>of</strong> the U.S. embargo on <strong>Cuba</strong>, is divided about cooperating with<br />
<strong>Cuba</strong> because <strong>of</strong> the island’s poor human rights record and lack <strong>of</strong> democracy. <strong>Cuba</strong> has<br />
continued to cultivate relations with individual EU member countries.<br />
In the Americas, <strong>Cuba</strong> has used the election <strong>of</strong> a series <strong>of</strong> left-leaning presidents in countries<br />
such as Brazil, Bolivia, and Venezuela to develop relations with those countries and the region in<br />
general. <strong>Cuba</strong> also has continued to foster close political and commercial ties with Mexico and<br />
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