The Cuban Press: Another Target of U.S Hostility

The actions of the Cuban press today suffered serious limitations due to the derivative measures of the economic, commercial and financial blockades imposed by the United States on the Caribbean nation for nearly half a century.

While sharing his experiences with Prensa Latina, the president of the Board of Directors of the National Press Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), Jose Reinaldo Fernandez Vega, strongly criticized that foreign policy as an atrocious course of action against the national media and the people in general. Fernandez remembered that, in 1976, a new politico-administrative division of the country was implanted producing the multiplication of provinces and the need for a print media in the new territories.

Due to the blockade and pressure exercised against Third World countries, none of the necessary printing and publishing equipment was able to be purchased abroad. The Cuban Press had to resort to the creativity of the technical staff, mostly from other industrial sectors, to recover old unused equipment that existed in the country. With all sorts of difficulties, the Press overcame the disadvantage and was able to communicate until the Soviet Union arrived in the early 1980s with new polygraph equipment, but with outdated technology.

Since the mid-’90s, driven by the acquisition of raw materials in the international market, a concentrated circulation of several newspapers in the neighboring provinces were supplied with offset equipment, and today, a fleet of trucks, vans and even aircraft are an essential resource for delivering the news to the readers. In the late ’80s, the Cuban Press achieved new levels of distribution and readership standards in accordance with UNESCO, having seven readers per edited publication in the country. Expectations kept growing toward excellence: one reader for every five people, Fernandez said.

An average of 720 publications were printed periodically, but not daily, reaching the sum of 82 million copies a year, and nearly 1.6 million newspapers on a daily basis reaching a total consumption of 35,000 tons of paper per year. This raw material was purchased at a fluctuating price of US$300 to $400 per ton, a price fixed by the international market, but which was mostly purchased by socialist countries, Fernandez explained.

In a blink of an eye, in the early ’90s, the Cuban National Press had only the equivalent of half the annual capacity in the country and foreign ports. Simultaneously, all of the markets informed them that they were short on supplies. A few months later, the paper supply came back at a doubled price, reaching the sum of $900 per ton. This price increase had a negative outcome on the Press, Fernandez stated.

Hundreds of newspapers vanished, reducing the number of papers by more than half. In the active practice of communication, nearly 50 newspapers remained, but they had to drastically change the frequency of their publications to a weekly, biweekly, monthly or even to an annual release. It’s then when pages, publications and publishing formats were reduced. Distribution changed, causing the number of readers per copy to increase to 29. The Bohemia magazine, published by Fernandez, lost 80 percent of its informative capability: The magazine went from a weekly release to biweekly, from 340,000 copies per edition to 100,000, from 96 pages to 62, and with an inch less of diameter in its format.

Fernandez indicated that the U.S. blockade limits access to the latest technology; therefore, it limits the possibility to obtain specialized information about technology advancement and foreign media, as well as international databases and informative networks. Another negative outcome for the Cuban Press can be seen in the persistent barriers against the participation of journalists in classes, seminars and other international events. These journalists also have to face the obstacles of obtaining a visa, leaving them with no other choice than to travel thousands of kilometers out of their way in order to arrive at their destination.

“This economic blockade has become an obstacle for the distribution and trade of different publications abroad, including in the United States. These limitations have expanded and not only compromise the machinery and its parts, but they have affected the purchase of notebooks and pens so important for this professional sector,” a journalist complained.

To the damages brought upon the daily actions of the press, the lack of transportation also plays an important role that has resulted in a need to find alternative ways to gather information. In its policy of hostility and undeclared war against the island, the U.S. blockade has greatly affected the content of our newspapers, Fernandez said.

Remembering the words of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, speaking at the Congress of the UPEC in 1993, he spoke about the role of the news and its capacity to change the people’s ideals. Under these conditions, Fernandez proceeded, “disinformation and manipulation of news become tools of aggression.” Hence, for the Press, scrutiny of source legitimacy and veracity are transformed into a national security imperative, which further complicates the daily search for information.

The U.S. media, Fernandez said, speaks so much about “freedom of the press;” they even hide the cruel practices of the U.S. government from the world in order to hinder the development of informative programs in Cuba.

At the same time, he declared, there is an increase of direct aggression against Cuban informative networks, in addition to using the Internet to create sites where internal subversion and execution of terrorist activities are promoted.

The U.S. blockade, Fernandez stated, aimed to prevent the acquisition of cables, equipment and other accessories that would allow the Cuban Press to acquire a broader network. In this aggressive context, Cuba is stepping up its efforts to place technology and communication sources at the service of the people, said the journalist. Connection to Internet services has been deemed the highest priority so that the scarce resources can benefit as many individuals as possible.

Despite the adverse conditions imposed by the blockade, we have continued to fulfill the mission of information and opinion, and today Cuba has the great continental alternative press. Television is already broadcasting via satellite. The national press has more than 130 Internet websites. Havana Cuba Radio grows in power, and Prensa Latina remains truthful to its origins by working hard to bring the world the reality of Cuba and the rest of Latin America, Fernandez said.

Cuba has nearly 100 radio stations that broadcast primarily on medium wave and FM. Of these stations, six are national and international, 18 provincial and 72 local corresponding to various cities, he said. There are five national television channels (Cubavision, Tele Rebelde, Educational channels 1 and 2, and Multivision), 13 provincial channels and international channels. There are 30 call centers in municipalities across the country, as well as 72 television studios in those territories.

In total, nowadays, there are already around 600 publications that support paper and digital formats, including 26 newspapers. Three out of those 26 are national, fifteen provincial, eight territorial and one international. This growing press community shows and maintains the vital role of the National Information Agency in Cuba.