Partial seizure of debtors

Cuban
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Partial
seizure of debtors’
salary

A
service
by the Radio Progreso Alternativa Havana Bureau

During
the last two years the Cuban government has sold rice cookers and
electric stoves to the population, among other home appliances, as
part of its energy revolution. Buyers were given the option to pay in
cash or in installments. Most of them opted for the latter, yet a
considerable number of people have made no payments.

According
to Cuban station Radio Progreso on a Tuesday, November 4, the
authorities will visit people at the Havana municipality of Habana
del Este who have not met their commitment in the case of the home
appliances sold to them. Those who persist could have their salaries
partly seized.

Cuba
will increase food imports

The
island will increase food imports from all its suppliers, according
to a declaration by Pedro Álvarez, president of Alimport, the
Cuban government food importing agency.

Álvarez
talked to the press at the inauguration of the 27th anniversary of
Havana’s International Fair that is being held presently.  

"This
year Alimport will spend over $2.4 to $2.5 billion dollars,”
Álvarez added. 

According
to official figures, Cuba invested $1.7 billion in food in 2007. The
increase is owed, according to Álvarez, to the crisis caused
by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which razed the island’s agriculture,
and to the sharp increase of food prices in world markets.

Record
in tourist arrivals predicted

At
the inauguration of the Cadillac Hotel in the eastern province of Las
Tunas, Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero announced that the country
would receive a record number of tourists from abroad.

According
to his predictions, in 2008, the industry will exceed the figure of
2,319,000 tourists who traveled to Cuba in 2005, a record to date.

In
the first 8 months of 2008, the island received 1,693,054 visitors, a
figure that is 13.5% higher in relation to the same period in the
previous year.

Some
experts believe that it is premature to predict higher figures, due
to possible consequences of the global financial crisis.

Hu
Jintao will visit Havana

According
to Prensa Latina news agency, President of the People’s Republic of
China Hu Jintao will visit several Latin American countries,
including Cuba, in mid November, after attending the G-20 Summit
November 15.

China
is Cuba’s number two trading partner, after Venezuela, and
exchanges of official visitors are frequent.

Cuba’s
trade with Latin America on the rise

Fifty
three percent of Cuba’s trade is carried out with Latin American
countries, Minister of Foreign Trade Raúl de la Nuez announced
in his inaugural address at Havana’s International Fair. 

De
la Nuez also praised the excellent relations with countries such as
Venezuela, Russia and China, which “allow us to face a program of
highway repairs and replacement of public and cargo transport.”