menu_open Columnists
Circles Robinson

Circles Robinson

Havana Times

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Mexico’s President: Pressured with Little Room to Maneuver

Relations between the leaders of Mexico and the United States are currently at a low point. One key factor is that Trump holds all the cards. The post...

10.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuban University Students vs. ETECSA

Students question why the people should bear the consequences of ETECSA’s mismanagement, poor investments, and resource misallocation. The post...

09.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Today’s Culture of Rip Offs in Cuba

Today’s Culture of Rip Offs in Cuba

I had just gotten onto one of the buses that circulate through the breezier outskirts of the Cuban capital after a brief struggle to board. The post...

08.06.2025 8

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuba: Student Protests and Social Crisis

Cuba: Student Protests and Social Crisis

For now, the standoff continues. The regime tries to discredit the protest by claiming it is externally provoked, an age-worn tactic... The post Cuba:...

08.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuban Government, Remember: “The Students Are Sacred”

The Cuban government seems to have forgotten everything that got it where it is, along with its responsibilities. The post Cuban Government,...

07.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Nostalgia for Pepe Mujica, or the Unsustainable Center

Reactions to the recent death of former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica say a lot about current politics, both in the world and within Cuba. The post...

06.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuba’s Bureaucracy and Its Disconnect to Citizens’ Demands

Diaz-Canel denies the university student strike exists over Etecsa’s ‘rate hike’, though the evidence is overwhelming. The post Cuba’s...

06.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Portugal: No Longer an Exception to Europe’s Far-right Rise

For decades, Portugal stood as a beacon of democratic stability in an increasingly unsettled Europe. An era of exceptionalism ended on May 18. The...

05.06.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

China & Cuba in the Global Arena: Two Parties One Strategy

Beyond the deep economic and structural differences, China and Cuba, are nations that share the status of single-party authoritarian regimes. The post...

04.06.2025 8

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Marc H. Ellis, Jewish Theology and Palestine’s Liberation

Marc H. Ellis, Jewish Theology and Palestine’s Liberation

While we watch livestreamed and direct the intensifying genocide the Israeli government is perpetrating on the Palestinian people in Gaza... The post...

04.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuba’s Monopoly Telecommunications Co. Wants More USD

Cuba’s Monopoly Telecommunications Co. Wants More USD

Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. That old saying fits perfectly with what’s happened in recent hours... The post Cuba’s...

02.06.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Mexico: An Unprecedented Judicial Election on June 1st

Can the popular vote alone guarantee a judiciary that is more ethical, technical, and connected to citizens? The post Mexico: An Unprecedented...

01.06.2025 8

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Mexico: An Unprecedented Judicial Election on June 1st

Can the popular vote alone guarantee a judiciary that is more ethical, technical, and connected to citizens? The post Mexico: An Unprecedented...

31.05.2025 8

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

If This Isn’t Genocide, What Is?

How do you label a government that cheered its intended goal of demolishing, decimating, and dismantling whatever was left standing in Gaza? The post...

31.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Matt the Traveler & Diaz-Canel: Postcards from Fraggle Rock

While millions of Cubans cope with constant blackouts and the lack of water, our designated president squanders resources on municipal tours. The post...

29.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Mom or Mamá: The Grief of Child Raising in Two Languages

It’s a delicate balance, almost an art form: preserving the mother tongue without holding back immersion in the new language. The post Mom or...

28.05.2025 9

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Rosario Murillo: Between Madame Mao and Grace Mugabe

Murillo knows many are waiting with a dagger in their mouth, intent on any opening that could arise with Daniel Ortega’s death. The post Rosario...

28.05.2025 9

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Summer is Approaching Cubans Discontent is Growing

As the temperature rises, many Cuban families feel they have nothing left to lose because they have hit rock bottom. The post Summer is Approaching...

27.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Immigration Police Spread Dragnets Across USA

I was in the Seattle immigration court accompanying a young mother from a South American country applying for asylum to a routine hearing. The post...

26.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Is the Top US Diplomat’s Time in Havana Almost Up?

He’s had the audacity to go out and walk the streets of Cuba to get a sense of how people feel about the harsh reality they are living. The post Is...

25.05.2025 7

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

In Cuba, We Have Lost the Ability to Dream

The phrases “We shall overcome,” “Building socialism,” “Yes we can,” have become mantras in official discourse... The post In Cuba, We...

25.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

The Weather These Days in Havana

These days, among the people you pass on the street, it’s inevitable to make some reference to the intensity of the temperatures. The post The...

24.05.2025 9

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

A Monument in Cuba That’s Hard to Love

Jose Marti is someone whom most people born in Cuba feel respect for. He died under fire from Spanish colonial troops on May 19, 1895. The post A...

21.05.2025 7

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

A Conversation with Jose “Pepe” Mujica

“Pepe” Mujica was waiting for us in the neglected garden of his chacra [farm] on the outskirts of Montevideo. The post A Conversation with Jose...

17.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

The Forgiveness the Cuban Government Refuses to Grant

In a country burdened by deep wounds, exercising forgiveness openly and strategically could represent a minimal act of wisdom and humanity. The post...

16.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

The Prisoner, His Mother and Cuban Government Cruelty

The political prisoner asked the Cuban gov. to grant him leave to visit his terminally ill mother & say goodbye. There was no way, & she died The post...

11.05.2025 30

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Who Understands Cubans?

If a population feels oppressed and yearns for freedom, the worst thing it can do is publicly pay homage to its leaders for the world to see. The post...

04.05.2025 8

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Nicaragua: A Lie That Will Never Be True

Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo know their behavior is pathetic. Their actions have validated like no one else the challenge of that April. The post...

03.05.2025 9

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Chilean Attorney Axel Kaiser’s Ignorance of Naziism

Axel Kaiser’s neoliberal fanaticism reaches such an extreme that he prefers to invent a National Socialism that never existed. The post Chilean...

02.05.2025 9

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Vietnam & Gaza Wars Shattered Young Illusions on US Leaders

It took much less time for young US citizens to turn decisively against their government’s key role of arming Israel’s war on Gaza. The post...

02.05.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Mexico Bans GM Corn Cultivation in Constitutional Reform

Corn is central to Mexico’s agriculture, cuisine, nutrition, and culture. It is the center of origin for corn, since thousands of years ago. The...

02.05.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Isolation is the Ortega Regime’s Primary Foreign Policy

The isolation the Ortega-Murillo duo uses to punish the world, is really just a sign of their own aloneness. The post Isolation is the Ortega...

29.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Message from Cuba to the Dominican Influencers Destino Tolk

Today I'm going to attempt to reach out to some fairly famous people, even though it's practically impossible. The post Message from Cuba to the...

28.04.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

We Suffered a Hate Attack in Memphis, Tennessee

Everything was going well before, everything continued well afterward, yet what marked the afternoon was an unusual hate attack The post We Suffered a...

26.04.2025 6

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Francis, the prophet with a toothbrush

A voice from above can help but it cannot replace the collective processes that unite activists and multitudes in search of alternatives. The post...

22.04.2025 40

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Are Basic Democratic Standards Possible in Chile?

Justifications for dictatorship as they attempt to defend the indefensible—legitimizing tyrants and the brutal concentration of power. The post Are...

21.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Nicaragua: Surviving the Beatings in Ortega’s Prisons

Stories from "In April I Was Still Alive": Interrogations in the prisons of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo's dictatorship. The post Nicaragua:...

20.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuba Has Become a Country of Empty Houses

Sometimes I wonder at what moment it stopped being a house. In Cuba, shuttered houses have become a metaphor for absence. The post Cuba Has Become a...

19.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Nicaragua: Organized Rebellion or Hopeless Resignation

The key to Nicaragua’s liberation rests on a strategy of cohesion and cooperation among the opposition groups. The post Nicaragua: Organized...

19.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

A Free Hand for Repression in Cuba

The independent press raises the alarm over the arbitrary detention of two journalists by Cuban State Security. The post A Free Hand for Repression in...

17.04.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

The Door That Closes with the Passing of Mario Vargas Llosa

With his death, Mario Vargas Llosa has closed the door on the most splendid era of our literature. The light, however, will remain on. The post The...

16.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuban Gov. Moves to Freeze Foreign Company Accounts  

We are still waiting for an official statement, but the uproar is important—perhaps enough to shame them into reversing the decision. The post Cuban...

13.04.2025 8

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Celac Summit in Honduras: Another Lost Opportunity

Amidst the tariff wars, the regional body opted for belligerent rhetoric instead of practical proposals. The post Celac Summit in Honduras: Another...

13.04.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Runoff Election in Ecuador This Sunday, April 13

Electoral campaigning ended on Thursday April 10th, as did the publication of polling data. Now comes a tense wait until election day. The post Runoff...

12.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Is Jamie in Adolescence a Psychopath or Son of Patriarchy?

This is a much more structural issue than we tend to believe and far more difficult to reverse if we want to prevent situations like Jamie’s. The...

12.04.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Trump’s Dilemma with Venezuela

The strategy of “maximum pressure” via sanctions is unlikely to overthrow Nicolas Maduro; negotiating with him inevitably confers legitimacy. The...

09.04.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

What Does April Mean to Nicaraguan Youth Who Were There?

April 2018 marked the starting point of an unprecedented self-organized social mobilization in Nicaragua. The post What Does April Mean to Nicaraguan...

09.04.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Cuba and Crossed Wires

During the President’s tour of economic entities, social institutions, & neighborhoods the most touching moment was the children’s reactions......

01.04.2025 20

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

Tourism, Cuba’s Economic Engine, Remains in Decline

With great fanfare, Cuban media celebrated this week the arrival of the first flight of the spring 2025 season carrying Russian tourists. The post...

30.03.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson

What Sustains Us in Cuba Through the Dark?

I was in such a hurry to grow, and that was the stupidest wish I ever made in my early childhood. I had no idea how much I would lose. The post What...

26.03.2025 10

Havana Times

Circles Robinson