Priority given to agro-technology education

Cuban
Radar                                                                             Read Spanish Version

Priority
given to agro-technology education

A
service by the Radio Progreso Alternativa Havana Bureau

Cuban
national media reported that enrollment in agro-technology careers
will grow by some 6,000 spots. The drive coincides with the need for
a higher qualified workforce for a sector that has been defined as a
matter of national security.

Due
to measures for transforming agriculture, such as decentralization
that gives a greater authority to municipalities, higher prices for
producers and Decree 259 that regulates the distribution of idle
land, the presence of a greater number of professionals in this
branch becomes indispensable.

"Petro-houses"
in Santiago de Cuba

Construction
of the first 100 "petro-houses" has begun in Santiago de
Cuba. Based on petroleum-derived polyvinyl chloride, the houses are
resistant, and built with a technology that reduces costs, as well as
time.

The
petro-houses have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen-dining room,
living room, water tank and a device against ultraviolet rays from
the sun.

The
first houses of this kind on the island were constructed in
Cienfuegos, in an area adjoining the remodeled oil refinery. The
city, located in Central South Cuba, 250 kilometers from Havana, will
be the first large petrochemical production center in the country, a
joint Cuban-Venezuelan project in the framework of ALBA (Bolivarian
Alliance for the Americas). The project, besides the production of
fuels and lubricants, will be dedicated to the manufacture of
plastics, petroleum house panels and fertilizers.

ALBA
at Santiago de Cuba

The
city of Santiago de Cuba — the venue for the official commemoration
of the 55th anniversary of the July 26 attack on the Moncada Barracks
led by Fidel Castro in 1953 — will be another investment center for
ALBA, and not only for housing construction. 

Under
ALBA’s economic integrationist umbrella, the Hermanos Díaz
refinery will be totally revamped, and new factories will be built
for paint, cement, disposable diapers and syringes. The latter plant
will produce 200 million units a year to supply the needs of the
healthcare system.

Wife
of Cuban prisoner held in the U.S. denied visa

The
U.S. government has permanently denied Olga Salanueva a visa to enter
the country. She is the wife of René González, one of
the Cuban Five, currently serving a 15-year prison term in the U.S.
for monitoring actions of Florida based anti-Castro terrorist groups.

For
nine years Mrs. Salanueva has been denied the possibility of visiting
her husband. Now she has been told that the decision is definitive.

The
case of the Cuban Five has been gaining support from individuals and
institutions the world over. The most recent action was in Spain,
where over 600 public officials signed a petition in favor of their
release from jail.

Opposition
Party created

Three
groups of internal dissidents on the island held a congress for the
creation of the joint Arco Progresista Party (Progressive Arc).

The
news was released by Manuel Cuesta Morúa, a leader of this
organization which labels itself as Social Democrats.

The
three groups that have fused into the single party are Corriente
Socialista Democrática (Democratic Socialist Trend), Partido
del Pueblo (People’s Party), and Coordinadora Socialdemócrata
(Social Democrat Coordination).

Fixed
route taxis in Santiago de Cuba

The
July 22 daily Granma
edition reports that 10 of the 16 microbuses sent to Santiago will
soon begin offering transportation services. The microbuses, which
will be operated as collective taxis with fixed routes, can seat 16
to 24 passengers, depending on the model. Price of the ride is 3
Cuban pesos (less than one U.S. cent.)

Half
a million people need transportation in Santiago de Cuba, but the
city only has 149 regular buses. The new service is part of the
improvement of public transport promised by the government.

New
Chinese locomotives

According
to a report in the daily Granma,
Vice Minister of Transportation Antonio Puente said that 11 new
Chinese locomotives are already in Cuba. The engines will begin
service next week and will be used "mainly for the
transportation of fuel, cement, containers, food and other cargo."

Cuba
bought 100 locomotives from the People’s Republic of China, 40 of
which will reach the country in the coming months and the rest in the
course of next year.

Public
transportation in Cuba was on the verge of collapse and the railway
system disastrous. Beginning last year, the government has made large
investments in the railroad sector, not only buying from Chinese
companies, but also from Russia, where it bought 28 locomotives that
will arrive in Cuba in 2009.