While much of the rest of Latin America shuts up shop for the Christmas period, Cuba undergoes a rare frenzy of activity. There is the biannual session of parliament in late December, and the New Year commemoration of the birth of the Revolution, which turned 55 on 1 January, from the eastern city of Santiago. President Raúl Castro’s message stuck to the familiar laments of “brutal [external] pressure” and the US ‘blockade’, but he also promised continued “gradual” reform. The opening days of January saw the announcement of two noteworthy reforms.End of preview - This article contains approximately 731 words.
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