Index number: AMR 25/005/2010, 35 p., In Cuba the state has a virtual monopoly of press and broadcast media and tight restrictions apply to the internet. Anyone who expresses views critical of the government runs the risk of harassment, arbitrary detention, and criminal prosecution. With dozens of prisoners of conscience continuing to serve long prison sentences in Cuba for exercising freedom of expression, Amnesty International calls on the authorities to stop the harassment and intimidation of dissidents, release prisoners of conscience, amend repressive legislation, and enable greater exchange of information through the internet and other media. Tables.
200 p., For Cuba's supporters, health is the most commonly cited evidence of the socialist system's success. Even critics often concede that this is the country's saving grace. Cuba's health statistics are indeed extraordinary. This small island outperforms virtually all of its neighboring countries and all countries of the same level of economic development. Some of its health statistics rival wealthy industrialized countries. Moreover, these health outcomes have resulted against all odds. This study of the Cuban health system finds that the country possesses an unusually high level of popular participation and cooperation in the implementation of health policy. This has been achieved with the help of a longstanding government that prioritizes public health, and has enough political influence to compel the rest of the community to do the same. On the other hand, popular participation in decision-making regarding health policy is minimal, which contrasts with the image of popular participation often promoted. Political elites design and impose health policy, allowing little room for other health sector groups to meaningfully contribute to or protest official decisions. This is a problem because aspects of health care that are important to those who use the system or work within it can be neglected if they do not fit within official priorities. The country's preventive arrangements, its collective prioritization of key health areas, the improvements in public access to health services through the expansion of health facilities and the provision of free universal care are among the accomplishments that set it apart. The sustainability and progress of these achievements, however, must involve open recognition and public discussion of weaker aspects of the health system.
This article discusses different views about sustainable development, emphasizing -- on the basis of a survey conducted in Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba -- the role of rural women in food production and natural resource management, the strength of the rural women's movement in the conquest of rights, and the decisive participation of women in defining proposals for public policies that guarantee gender equality in rural areas. A brief comparative analysis leads us to conclude that the development model in the three countries still prioritizes the male figure in relation to land tenure, access to credit and purchase of equipment or other material resources, it is suggested that both in Cuba, a socialist country, and in Mexico and Brazil, capitalist counties, the assumptions of social policies directed to rural female workers should take into account the basic needs of rural women to guarantee a more humane and sustainable development. Adapted from the source document.
For the last three weeks, the readers of this column have been able to follow Dr. [Anthony P. Maingot]'s speech about Haiti's history of war of liberation and internicine struggles which have been such a burden for the First Black Republic. He began with "the issue of the moment," namely the reparation from France for 200 years of slavery. Haiti's political culture, its "developed legacy of behavior, " is not conducive to development. The second issue studied by Dr. Maingot is the U.S. occupation of Haiti, which "rested on the idea of the White Man's burden" - its Manifest Destiny. But, on balance, the occupation was not entirely negative. The very racism of the White invaders was a reality check for Haitian society. Yes, by treating all Haitians (whether dark skinned or light skinned Mulattoes) as "Niggers," no more no less, the foreign invaders reconciled the subjective ideas of superiority and/or inferiority of the Haitians with their own, i.e., their more objective, non involved, opinions as powerful occupying forces. Thirdly, Dr. Maingot analysed a cultural element that had, and continues to have, a great impact on Haitian society. That major cultural factor, of course, is the syncretic religion called vodoo.
At [Henry Christophe]'s death, Haiti was taken over by General Boyer and civil war ceased. It was Boyer who obtained Haiti's official independence from France for 150 million francs. Unfortunately, Haiti's employment is less than 30 percent and its illiteracy rate is above 50 percent. Though its official language is French, Haiti's most widely spoken language is kreyol. Ninety percent of Haitians are Catholic although 99 percent worship their native religion of voodoo. Despite its tropical resort geography, living conditions in Haiti are comparative to those of many Third World nations. The Haitian economy is almost entirely dependent upon U.S. companies who horde the country's resources and only pay slave wages.
For a truly cosmopolitan anthropology to come about, we need to reflect critically on the conditions of our knowledge production. Using the example of women's under-representation within anthropology, and the marginalization of the Caribbean. Argues that we need to think more about the social ground beneath our feet and recognize the differential access that anthropologists across the globe and at home have to the ongoing larger conversation that constitutes the discipline.
This article uses the details of those who fled to Trinidad from the violence of the Venezuelan war of independence in 1814, 1815 and 1816 as a prism through which to view female agency in the southern Caribbean during first two decades of the nineteenth century. In particular it focuses on free coloured women as being able to exploit the poorly controlled edges of empire for their own advantage. Characterised by a self-reliant independence these women were at once highly mobile, independent and influential. These women have been marginalised in the histories of the region and yet this research suggests that they had a far more prevalent and powerful role in shaping its character and history than has been recognised to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
Journal Article, Uses data from a nationally representative panel survey of Mexican adults to examine the extent of skin color based social stratification in contemporary Mexico. Despite extreme ambiguity in skin color classification, the author finds considerable agreement among survey interviewers about who belongs to three skin color categories. The results also provide evidence of profound social stratification by skin color. Individuals with darker skin tone have significantly lower levels of educational attainment and occupational status, and they are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to be affluent, even after controlling for other individual characteristics.
Equipped with new legislative powers, Canada's government is able to pick and choose immigrants more aggressively than ever. The average wait time for someone wishing to bring a spouse into the country through Kingston, Jamaica has ballooned to 15 months, fully three times the processing time in 2006. A similar application lodged in New Delhi takes just six months. Is the country engaging in country profiling?
Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) have led to most of the growth and wealth gains in developed economies, but developing countries such as those in the Caribbean with a dearth of technological expertise and development continue to lag behind. This commentary discusses inequalities related to the use (or unavailability) of STI from the perspective of Jamaica. The main focus of the paper is on education and Information and Communications Technology. It also looks briefly at health, employment and security.
