• Submitted by: manso
• Travel and Tourism
• 06 / 15 / 2011

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Cuba and Venezuela have agreed to over $1 billion worth of joint economic accords, El Nuevo Herald reports. The 116 projects run the gamut—from food and energy to health and communication. Venezuela is also investing in a Cuban refinery in Cienfuegos. The yearly economic agreement between the two countries was made during Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s visit to the island. He is currently in Havana recovering from an unplanned surgery to remove a pelvic abscess. For more information on Chávez’s surgery, check out BBC or Granma. Also during the visit—a Venezuelan official said that the newly-completed fiber optic Internet cable between the two countries will start operating next month, according to Global Post.

Cuban-Americans are taking advantage of newly loosened travel restrictions, says the New York Times. A piece on exile travel to the island claims that around 400,000 Americans will visit Cuba this year, more than any year since the 1959 Revolution. The Times report looks at the island’s dependence on cash from abroad, as well as the tribulations of emigrant life. One Cuban-American describes being caught between worlds: “‘I have half my heart here and the other half there,” she said. “The sad thing is, I am not really happy in either place.’”

You can expect gender inequality to spike as Cuba’s economic reforms advance, some experts argue. Only 30 percent of the island’s current crop of self-employed workers are female, suggesting women will have more difficulty adapting to the layoffs coming to 500,000 state employees. Women have long been at a disadvantage in the Cuban economy; because of their outsized household obligations, women’s salaries are around 80 to 85 percent of their male equivalents. A long article in Diario de Cuba has more info.

Source: //miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2011/06/