by the El Reportero’s wireservices
Rafael Correa
From Latin News: The line-up for the Feb. 17 general elections is now almost complete as far as presidential candidates are concerned. Nobody was surprised when President Rafael Correa registered his candidacy for re-election on Nov. 12; days earlier he had announced that there was “consensus” within the ruling Alianza País (AP) regarding his candidacy. At the last minute he picked former minister coordinator of strategic sectors, Jorge Glas, as his running mate.
Cuba’s missing data: what does it mean?
It has become increasingly difficult to assess the performance of the Cuban economy in recent years, because of the non-appearance of some important economic data. At the end of October, the Anuario Estadístico de Cuba, which is usually published by July by the Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas e Información (ONEI, the national statistics office), was missing three chapters: chapter 5, which covers national income accounts; chapter 6, public finances; and chapter 8, the external sector.
Cuba warns of risks to LatAm, defends integration at summit
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla warned here today of threats posed to Latin America and the Caribbean by the current world order and defended regional integration as a way to face them.
Speaking at the plenary session of the 22nd Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, which concluded today, the Cuban diplomat described as dangerous the world situation, marked by the economic crisis and the warmongering stand of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“Economic relations remain significantly unfavorable to Latin America,” said Rodríguez.
He noted that the economic links are characterized by “an unequal international economic order, the irrational and unsustainable nature of the capitalist models of production and consumption and the environmental damage.”
In this regard, he highlighted the increasing effectiveness of the regional mechanisms of coordination, cooperation and agreement, like the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a 33-member country bloc founded in Caracas in Dec. 2011.
He said that in view of the threats posed by the establishment of a clearly offensive military and nuclear doctrine, the destabilization of sovereign states, the backing of rebel groups and military intervention, CELAC is our most valuable work, with which we defend more than two centuries of struggle and hope.
