The flowers of the primitive angiosperm plants were radially symmetrical (actinomorphic). Flowers with bilateral symmetry (zygomorphic) evolved in several clades independently as an adaptation to specialized methods of pollination and played an important role in the diversification of flowering plants. In the model species Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon), the related genes CYCLOIDEA (CYC) and DICHOTOMA (DICH) are key in the development of this trait. This raises the question of whether they played a role in the evolution of floral bilateral symmetry. To (...) address this, the evolution of CYC in relation to the evolution of zygomorphy is being investigated. Phylogenetic and functional analyses of CYC‐like genes are being carried out in groups either closely related to Antirhinum or in families where zygomorphy evolved as an independent event. In addition, the origin of zygomorphy is being studied by comparing the function of CYC‐like genes in species with zygomorphic flowers with their function in species with radially symmetrical flowers. BioEssays 26:1175–1184, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

On the grouds of the archives the proposal explores the actitudes of the resistence adaptation or collaboration of the colour slaves in their individual and collective expressions. Their adaptation means were the paid manumissions and the judicial litigation. Their resistence means to the slave opression werw the runawa. the stockades of Tumán and Feñerrafe and the social homicide of the majordorno in Pomalca. Although the colour slaves lacked a social project opposed to the colonial society, they showed a deep and (...) constant resistence to the opression in a rage of attitudes that went from the paid manuinission and the judicial litigation (adaptation in resistence) to the political protest and the collective revolt going thnough the runaway and the social homicide al1 this within a constant search of liberty. (shrink)

El régimen establecido por Hugo Chávez y continuado por Nicolás Maduro en Venezuela ha generado repercusiones sociales, migratorias, económicas y políticas que han trascendido las fronteras del país, convirtiéndose en un factor desestabilizador para la democracia y la seguridad de América Latina. Para explicar dicho fenómeno, se propone analizar los antecedentes, contextos y elementos que propiciaron su surgimiento y consolidación. Para ello, después de discutir el concepto y las características del populismo, se hace una revisión de su plasmación histórica en (...) los populismos clásicos latinoamericanos de mediados del siglo XX. La sección final se centra en analizar las peculiaridades del neopopulismo latinoamericano y del Socialismo del Siglo XXI en Venezuela. A través de esta exploración, se busca comprender sus bases ideológicas, características y consecuencias, así como proponer hipótesis sobre las causas de su permanencia en el poder. (shrink)

Reading and reading comprehension is of great importance for students to be able to grasp the main idea of what they are reading, for which reading strategies are needed. The objective of the research is to analyze and describe the perspectives of the reading strategies they use and how to help entering university students to face their professional studies. The methodology used is descriptive and correlational among its elements, it is of cross-sectional and quantitative approach whose sample are university students (...) entering a professional career, 1181 students were surveyed through an online survey. (shrink)

Entre los muchos y graves problemas que afrontan los poderes instituidos del actual sistema-mundo capitalista, uno de ellos (parece no haber dudas al respecto) es con las matemáticas. Los "errores" de cálculo son sobre todo apreciables cuando de evaluar los acontecimientos de Cuba se trata...

El artículo busca desmentir la imagen desastrosa que sobre Cuba trasmiten las mayor parte de las transnacionales de la información y, al mismo tiempo, señalar algunas de las líneas generales de los cambios necesarios a Cuba. Publicado también bajo el título de "Cuba y la 'impresición' de las matemáticas, el trabajo apareció en su momento, al menos en 22 sitios de la web, en español y francés.

Partiendo del recuerdo de la zafra de los 10 millones y la influencia que tuvo en la sociedad cubana, se expone dicha vivencia, comparándola con la actual campaña cubana por producir 100 millones de dosis de vacunaS para hacer frente en cuba a la pandemia de COVID-19, y la inspiración esperanzadora que representa.

Cuba's National Food Program aims to assure its population a minimum degree of food security during the current period of transition from dependency upon the ex-Socialist trading bloc. A number of important elements of the Food Program, however, were conceived before the demise of COMECON in an effort to deepen food import substitution. This paper reviews the degree of Cuba's food import dependence before the breakup of the Socialist bloc, the initial targets of the National Food Program, and (...) how these have been modified due to the severe reduction in Cuba's normal level of imports of petroleum and other agricultural inputs. It is argued that Cuba's reliance upon scientific advances combined with a return to traditional, ecologically-benign agricultural practices and large-scale labor mobilizations have allowed it to overcome a drastic shortfall in production as a result of the reduced level of imports of modern agricultural inputs. At the same time, it has been exceedingly difficult for the country to maintain production levels at the trend of the late 1980s or to continue to aspire to meet the ambitious targets of the initial Food Program plan. (shrink)

Sartre and Beauvoir’s ongoing support of the Revolution after their Cuba trip, especially in Brazil. Their return trip to Cuba in October 1960, their meeting with Castro and the changes they observe. Their troubled return to France. Sartre’s response to the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Missile Crisis.

The 1989 collapse of trade relations with the former socialist bloc plunged Cuba into an economic and food crisis. Cuban farmers, scientists, and planners have responded with alternative agricultural technology to make up for imported food and Green Revolution inputs that are no longer available. A review of Cuban experience to date with biological pest control practices shows that, on the one hand, significant progress has been made that may serve as a model for other countries, while, on the (...) other hand, there still remains a long way to go if Cuba is to create a truly sustainable agriculture. It is essential that we understand the Cuban case if we are to be concerned about ethical issues in biological control. The apparent ability of Cuba to overcome a food crisis without significant use of pesticides stretches our concept of the possible. It thus helps refute the most common argument – that we couldn't “feed the hungry” without pesticides – against taking the “ethical” position in real-world pest management policy debates. (shrink)

Having lost 73% of its purchasing power and 42% of it gross national product since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba faces a crisis with the modern agricultural system it had developed over the past 30 years. The response has been to put an alternative model into practice. The successes and problems associated with this model are discussed.

La crisi dei regimi comunisti a metà degli anni ottanta e il collasso dell’Unione Sovietica del '91, intensificarono, a Cuba, le divisioni interne al sistema castrista. Questo articolo sviluppa due prospettive di analisi. In primo luogo si propone di illustrare le dinamiche socio – politiche nell’isola dopo la riforma costituzionale del '76 fino all’esplosione della crisi con la conseguente rectificación e la ricostruzione nazionale. Secondariamente approfondisce la riforma costituzionale del 1992 e le nuove dinamiche interne legate ad una serie (...) di fattori anche esogeni. (shrink)

¿Por qué del retraso o casi nulo avance de las ciencias sociales al interior del mundo de los socialismos históricos? Ésta es la pregunta que se hace el autor al abordar el caso de Cuba. De su texto se desprende que la respuesta debiera buscarse no tanto en el ejercicio propio de estas disciplinas, sino en el nivel más profundo de los supuestos teóricos que las sostienen. El modelo de acumulación del socialismo real estaba en crisis ya desde fines (...) de los años 60, y sin embargo los países del bloque se empeñaron en continuar con su aplicación, confundiendo -una vez más- los intereses de los sectores populares con aquellos del Estado y de quienes lo controlan. Cuba no sería sino el último representante de un modelo caduco de socialismo del siglo XX que niega la evidencia histórica. (shrink)

Cuba entered a crisis in 1989 when its trading arrangements with the USSR and Eastern Europe collapsed, Their supplies of imported staple food and agricultural input supplies were severely curtailed. Thus the Cubans had to alter both the methods of farming and the mix of items produced. Despite differences in historical setting, the changes forced upon the Cubans are similar to earlier agricultural changes in Mexico and India. Three themes unite events in the countries: (1) National leaders wishing to (...) industrialize their countries found it necessary to have agricultural productivities higher than subsistence levels. (2) Foreign exchange shortages were a major factor in promoting more intensive agriculture, (3) Lack of food self-sufficiency in wartime was a serious threat to a nation's security. Both Mexico and India chose to promote innovations needed for more intensive agriculture, even when this policy conflicted with ideologies and programs of social equality and justice. Current disruptions in the Cuban economy suggest that Cubans, too, will be forced to confront the tension between equity and production in agriculture. (shrink)

Cuba currently has more than 38,000 health workers providing emergency relief, long-term community-based care and medical education to some of the most vulnerable communities in the world. This current outreach to 76 countries positions Cuba as a leader in global health outreach. This has been well documented and praised by many scholars and policy makers alike. While many acknowledge the importance and impact of the Cuba’s global effort, there is very little understanding as to why Cuba (...) makes such a large global health commitment in the first place. I argue that solidarity is in fact a mixture of national pride, self-interest and humanistic outreach. Ultimately, it is a calculated effort to overcome current structures of inequity and exploitation on a global scale by expanding new opportunities for health professionals dedicated to providing care in marginalized communities. (shrink)

Un dessin humoristique de novembre 1963 montre une armée de femmes enceintes faisant la queue devant un magasin. Il paraît dans Pa’lante, le supplément illustré de Granma, le quotidien national du parti communiste cubain. Le célèbre caricaturiste Aristide Pumariega dessine des femmes mécontentes et mal à l’aise. La plupart sont assises, l’une d’elles est prostrée sur un petit lit, sans doute pour reposer ses chevilles endolories. Des enfants jouent tandis qu’elles discutent de leurs difficult...

Urban agriculture in Cuba has played an important role for citizens’ food supply since the collapse of the Eastern Block. Through the land reform of 2008 and the Lineamientos of 2011, the Cuban government has aimed to support agriculture in order to increase national food production and reduce imports. However, the implementation of the designed measures faced obstacles. Therefore, the research objective was to display how the government’s measures aiming to support domestic food production influenced urban agriculture. The qualitative (...) research comprised semi-structured interviews with 15 urban farmers in Havana and revealed the respondents’ experiences with the land reform and the Lineamientos and the potential of the reforms to implement food sovereignty. Findings show that the land reform has facilitated access to land for newcomer and existing farmers. However, availability of agricultural inputs has been limited and they were often expensive. Thus, urban farmers frequently produced farm inputs at their plots and applied sustainable farming practices to minimize their dependence on external inputs. The reforms have generated private marketing opportunities and have stimulated urban farmers to increase production. At the same time, subsidies have been reduced and consumers have faced increasing food prices. In conclusion, the land reform and the Lineamientos have created framework conditions for food sovereignty. However, the challenge is to increase the coherence of the theoretic aim and the practical implementation of the reforms. (shrink)

Faced with an extremely difficult economic situation following the loss of its major trade relations, a tightened U. S. blockade, and a world recession, Cuba has taken major steps towards building an ecological society. The major change in the orientation of development strategy that is now taking place requires a complex analysis that includes such long term general factors as the socialist commitment to developing science, the absence of a sector that profits from high tech agriculture or environmental degradation, (...) and a receptivity to Marxist analysis of science combined with the development of a self confident and articulate ecological community and shorter term changes associated with “rectification”, a political swing to the left, and the present “Special Period”. Ecologists by conviction are joined by ecologists by necessity in introducing emergency measures that they hope will become permanent features of Cuban Society. (shrink)

En este trabajo interesa destacar el nexo orgánico, históricamente forjado, entre un cierto modo (marxista) de reflexionar teóricamente у una praxis social que ha tenido el explícito propósito, mediante la objetivación de aquella teoría, de construir una sociedad distinta, alternativa, socialista. Claro que en el caso de Cuba esto al mismo tiempo significa hacer referencia también а una herencia no estrictamente marxista, ni socialista, pero sí directamente imbricada con el marxismo y el socialismo cubanos. Nos referimos al legado martiano, (...) responsable en buena medida de la "cubanización" del marxismo у el socialismo en tierras de la nación antillana. (shrink)

En la interpretación del origen y la estructuración de lo nacional cubano han predominado las investigaciones históricas. Los estudios sobre la construcción nacional en Cuba no han atendido suficientemente la incidencia de lo visual, de lo visible en este proceso. De ahí la relevancia de la presente investigación, que propone un acercamiento a los nexos entre las categorías raza, cultura visual y nación con el objetivo de describir y valorar cómo a partir de las imágenes se estructuran relatos visuales (...) que respaldan o legitiman narraciones histórico-políticas nacionales. Para la realización de este trabajo se han seguido las pautas teórico-metodológicas de la disciplina de la Historia del Arte y el campo de los Estudios sobre Cultura Visual. En este caso, se realiza una aproximación al proceso de formación del relato visual de la nación cubana, tomando la imagen del héroe negro en el centro histórico urbano de Santiago de Cuba como principal referente para el análisis. A partir de una muestra de 76 imágenes de héroes en el enclave señalado, se comprobó que 24 de estas imágenes representan a héroes negros. La hipótesis de la investigación es que estas imágenes resultan ser correlatos de las narraciones histórico-políticas de «trascendencia racial» y «armonía racial», recurrentes en naciones latinoamericanas, catalogadas como democracias raciales, pigmentocracias o color blind nations. Una traducción literal de color blind nation, por ejemplo, es algo así como nación ciega al color; idea que establece un diálogo planificado y conveniente entre lo visible y lo invisible, entre lo visto y lo oculto. Los bustos, las estatuas o los monumentos que se han analizado en este estudio permiten concluir que la narraciones histórico-política de una Cuba armónica, en términos raciales, tuvo su contrapartida visual, a partir de la creación de lo que podría denominarse una raza de bronce. (shrink)

Sartre’s changing sympathy for the Cuban Revolution through the 1960s and 1970s. His invitation to the Congreso Cultural de La Habana in January 1968. Sartre’s response to Guevara’s death in Bolivia. Sartre and Beauvoir’s public response to the trial of the poet Heberto Padilla. The legacy of Sartre and Beauvoir in Cuba.

Paris 1960: Sartre and Beauvoir invited by Carlos Franqui to Cuba to witness the new Revolution. Sartre’s concurrent writing projects. Their stay in Havana and their tour of the island. Their meetings with the revolutionary leaders. Their return to France via New York.

Revisitant le voyage peu connu de Ernesto Che Guevara au Congo en 1965 à partir de son Journal du Congo, l’article propose une lecture décoloniale de la coopération entre Cuba et le Congo. Considérée comme un « échec » militaire, cette mission de soutien témoigne tout à la fois d’une alliance des pays du tiers-monde et d’une volonté anticoloniale et anti-impériale d’imaginer des possibles politiques alternatifs. Elle montre aussi les difficultés de faire front commun et d’implanter au Congo l’idéal (...) marxiste cubain de « l’homme nouveau ». Malgré cette situation ambivalente, analysée à partir du journal du Che et de photographies, cette expérience militaire a été un premier jalon tiers-mondiste d’affirmation de « modernités multiples », qui ne sont pas assujetties aux seules modernités occidentales, comme en témoigne une description de l’exposition artistique du Sud Global de La Havane en 1989, conçue par l’auteure comme en étroite filiation avec le rêve du Che. (shrink)

"As novelist and poet Andrei Codrescu points out in the essay that accompanies this selection of photographs from the Getty Museum's collection, Evans's photographs are the work of an artist whose temperament was distinctly at odds with Beals's impassioned rhetoric. Evans's photographs of Cuba were made by a young, still maturing artist who - as Codrescu argues - was just beginning to combine his early, formalist aesthetic with the social concerns that would figure prominently in his later work."--Jacket.

This book presents a historical perspective on patterns of human rights abuse in Cuba, El Salvador and Nicaragua and incorporates international relations in to the traditional theories of state repression found within the social sciences.

Although Peirce, as far as we know, did not visit Cuba (or any other Latin American country), it is argued that his favorable impression and interesting remarks about the Cuban character are likely the result of the time he spent in Key West, Florida, while conducting gravity experiments for the Coast Survey. This paper tries to provide a snapshot of this little-known period in Peirce’s life, the time of Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain, and ends with brief (...) comments on pragmatism and Cuba, past and present. (shrink)

Attempts to democratize the food system and make it more equitable through food sovereignty take many forms across space. In Cuba, food sovereignty is perceived as the promotion of small-scale farming methods informed by agroecology and permaculture. However, these practices are mediated by discourses of self-sufficiency in the context of the US blockade. Simultaneously, in Basque country, Spain, food sovereignty shapes community-supported agriculture initiatives, farmer union and cooperative-based work, and a deep appreciation for regional foods. In this context, food (...) sovereignty is perceived as part of the struggle to maintain Basque identity and autonomy. In this paper, I discuss how food sovereignty is defined and understood by outside actors who traveled to either Cuba or Basque country to understand how food sovereignty is being practiced in place. As educators, farmers, students, retirees, farmworker organizers, and activists meet in these spaces, I ask how do definitions of food sovereignty differ? I argue that food sovereignty ‘sits in places’ and travelers have difficulty discerning what food sovereignty is when confronted with unfamiliar practices. Findings suggest that such educational tourism is an attempt to create a meaningful space for dialogue about food sovereignty and as a touchstone it offers opportunities for participant discussions, however, understandings of food sovereignty are subject to confusion and alternate conceptions and thus, do not always travel well. (shrink)

Cuban scholarly works on gender are little known outside Cuba. This article summarizes characteristics of the gender approaches used by social scientists in Cuba, stressing their methodological views, the methods they use, the non-Cuban authors who have influenced their works, and the social context in which gender studies started in Cuban academia. It includes an appendix listing works by the 24 scholars interviewed by the author.

This book explores Sartre’s engagement with the Cuban Revolution. In early 1960 Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir accepted the invitation to visit Cuba and to report on the revolution. They arrived during the carnival in a land bursting with revolutionary activity. They visited Che Guevara, head of the National Bank. They toured the island with Fidel Castro. They met ministers, journalists, students, writers, artists, dockers and agricultural workers. Sartre spoke at the University of Havana. Sartre later published his (...) Cuba reports in France-Soir. Sartre endorsed the Cuban Revolution. He made clear his political identification. He opposed colonialism. He saw the US as colonial in Cuban affairs from 1898. He supported Fidel Castro. He supported the agrarian reform. He supported the revolution. His Cuba accounts have been maligned, ignored and understudied. They have been denounced as blind praise of Castro, ‘unabashed propaganda.’ They have been criticised for ‘clichés,’ ‘panegyric’ and ‘analytical superficiality.’ They have been called ‘crazy’ and ‘incomprehensible.’ Sartre was called naïve. He was rebuked as a fellow traveller. He was, in the words of Cuban author Guillermo Cabrera Infante, duped by ‘Chic Guevara.’ This book explores these accusations. Were Sartre’s Cuba texts propaganda? Are they blind praise? Was he naïve? Had he been deceived by Castro? Had he deceived his readers? Was he obligated to Castro or to the Revolution? He later buried the reports, and abandoned a separate Cuba book. His relationship with Castro later turned sour. What is the impact of Cuba on Sartre and of Sartre on Cuba? (shrink)

In 1872, there were more than 300,000 slaves in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Though the Spanish government had passed a law for gradual abolition in 1870, slaveowners, particularly in Cuba, clung tenaciously to their slaves as unfree labor was at the core of the colonial economies. Nonetheless, people throughout the Spanish empire fought to abolish slavery, including the Antillean and Spanish liberals and republicans who founded the Spanish Abolitionist Society in 1865. This book is an extensive study of (...) the origins of the Abolitionist Society and its role in the destruction of Cuban and Puerto Rican slavery and the reshaping of colonial politics. (shrink)

Quantitative study of the effects of war in the Cuban population. Analysis of the demographic variables used as source of the "Report on the Census of Cuba of 1899", lifted by the American government. It includes graphics about the number and evolution of the births, inarriages and deaths in Cuba by provinces, and the natural grohth in the Island. It is demonstrated a demographic disaster associated to war, with the death of 200.000 souls approximately.

La historia de la Cirugía Pediátrica cubana está pendiente de ser documentada científicamente. Se estableció como objetivo definir las etapas de desarrollo de la especialidad en Cuba, para lo cual se hizo un análisis histórico y se identificó cuatro períodos fundamentales. Este artículo tiene una significación práctica puesto que permite conocer en qué momento se encuentra la especialidad para modelar el futuro de la misma. The history of Cuban pediatric surgery is pending of being scientifically documented. It was established (...) as an objective to define the stages of the development of the specialty in Cuba. For this purpose a historical analysis was carried out and four main periods were identified. This study has a practical importance because it allows knowing the stage in which the specialty is to model its future. (shrink)

El Rey de la Habana es la metáfora trágica del agotamiento de la Cuba castrista y el tortuoso parto de una nueva realidad social que no acaba de nacer. En las prietas páginas de una breve novela, repletas de violencia, bestialidad, sexo desaforado, heces y descarnada lucha por la vida, Pedro Juan Gutiérrez se erige como testigo de su época y el destino de su patria. Su telón de fondo es una Habana decadente, físicamente carcomida, donde el “sálvese cada (...) uno como pueda” funciona como ley social. Esta obra coloca a su autor entre los novelistas latinoamericanos medulares en la bisagra entre el s. XX y el s. XXI. (shrink)

El azar de la guerra ha permitido rescatar un corpus epistolar femenino escrito en Cuba en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. Esta contribución muestra, a través de algunos documentos, cómo mujeres cubanas de distinto estatus social, etnia y formación narran desde su experiencia personal y según su competencia escrituraria, la experiencia de las contiendas que dieron la independencia a la isla. Los textos permiten trazar una imagen de la mujer y de los usos lingüísticos que caracterizan al español (...) cubano del siglo XIX. (shrink)

Le développement du secteur privé et de la régulation par le marché à Cuba depuis dix ans questionne le projet de construction socialiste encore prôné par le pouvoir. Or, la concurrence inévitable entre le secteur d’État « socialiste » et le secteur privé marchand et capitaliste peut réduire à néant ce projet. En effet, la coexistence pacifique entre ces deux secteurs est illusoire. L’objectif de cet article est de mettre en évidence les modifications nécessaires des politiques économiques dans ce (...) nouveau contexte et de souligner l’importance d’appréhender le secteur productif privé comme un outil temporaire, permettant, à travers l’aliénation d’une partie de son surproduit, le développement du secteur socialiste. (shrink)

Focusing on the transatlantic route between France and Cuba, this article explores early twentieth-century debates on the “traffic in women” through the lens of migration history. A range of sources attest to the predominance of French prostitutes, pimps and procurers in the Cuban sex industry. Whether French women were entrepreneurial migrants or trafficking victims remained however an open question for contemporaries. This article examines migrant prostitution as a survival strategy for poor French women, while also considering their options for (...) overseas travel and the kind of sex they sold in the brothels of Havana. It also reviews the role of male intermediaries in facilitating migration from France to the Americas, and concludes with a discussion of the intersection of anti-trafficking efforts and Cuban immigration law in the mid-1920s. (shrink)

Los problemas asociados a la enseñanza del marxismo en Cuba posterior al triunfo de la revolución cubana en enero de 1959, han transcurrido por distintas etapas de creación, debate, discusión y censura. Estos se han ido manifestando de formas disímiles en cada uno de ellas, de modo que pueden apreciarse puntos de conexión y ruptura en este recorrido hasta la actualidad. A las incursiones en el tema por parte de estudiosos del mismo y sus expresiones editoriales en el período (...) mencionado se dedicará el siguiente trabajo, con el propósito de sistematizar y poner en tela de juicio las ideas futo de estas experiencias intelectuales en su estrecho vínculo con la política, en aras de continuar reformulando y enriqueciendo las áreas de influencia en la sociedad cubana del marxismo. (shrink)