Theoretical Debates Begin in Caribbean Festival

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Jul 4 (ACN) The International Colloquium entitled The Caribbean that Unites Us, which is an academic encounter of the Fire Festival, this year dedicated to Puerto Rica began on Wednesday in the Eastern city with a conference "Over Wings and Birds, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Caribbean.

The Puerto Rico Panel: contemporary realities was held on Wednesday with works that included history, daily life, economy and environmental challenges, among other issues that defines the Caribbean universe.

Professor of the University of Puerto Rico, Manuel Febles talked on the social and cultural features that originated from slavery in the region for almost four centuries and where deformations caused by capitalism persists.

Alicia Rodriguez, with a piece called From Puerto Rico, Showcase of the Caribbean to Puerto Rico a Bankrupt country captivated the public when she spoke of the current situation among the island's population.

Through a colloquial exhibition, with concrete examples of the daily life on the island, the Puerto Rican academic analyzed the economic recession, which began in 2006.

At this moment there is no recession, she said, it is a depression.

Rodriguez said that over 40 percent of the Puerto Rican population live below poverty level and 56 percent of the children are in misery, among other data that point out a very regrettable situation compared with the other areas of the Caribbean, said the economist.

There are sales of actives and privatization of public entities, loss of productivity, increase in prices for university enrollment, more people die than those born and migration continues to grow, said Rodriguez.

The solution consists in going from a consumption economy to one of production and secure jobs and measures that favor a distribution of earnings, said the professor, who concluded by demanding an end to the colonial status with the United States.

It is imperative to achieve sovereign political powers, she said.

The Caribbean Festival, which will wind up on the 9th with the burning of the Devil (Quema del Diablo), is an important event in the region with a participation of colors and passion of these lands together with art and an academic environment.