Safe Democracy Foundation - Safe Democracy

The expectations that Fidel Castro’s resignation generated throughout the world are vanishing. Nothing augurs profound change, at least not in line with the change that world leaders are looking for. It looks like the day in which Cuba opens itself up to democracy, holds debates regarding the rights of the people and is incorporated into the global economy is far away, the author assures.

• Cuba, following in the footsteps of China and Vietnam
  por José Luis Martínez

Regarding the several approaching appointments with the ballot boxes (Spain, Italy, the United States, and municipalities in France), the author analyzes the democratic components common to the several campaigns. Using the American model and the current political involvement of its citizenry, he reminds the readers that a party system is far from being a summation of apparatuses; rather, the system responds to a dynamic in which each strong force talks to, competes with, and confronts the other.

• The Italian elections: "Obama versus McCain"… Roman style
  por José Catalán Deus
• The harmful convergence of politics in Spain
  por Luis Méndez Asensio
• Barack versus "Billary"
  por Eric Napoli

The Middle East is experiencing a new escalation in the violence between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants. According to the analysts, the only way out involves the reestablishment of a framework for global negotiation between the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian factions of the West Bank and Gaza, an option that could lead to the creation of another National Unity Government, provided that an agreement is reached beforehand. But in order for this to happen, the author states that Israel must renounce its project of getting rid of Hamas by force.

• Alert before the Unreasonableness of Hamas
  por Jana Beris

The supporters of Taiwanese independence consider Kosovo to be a precedent that encourages them not to give up in their struggle. Nevertheless, the differences between the two cases are obvious, and not only due to the democratic imperative necessary to constitute a state; neither the origin of the dispute nor the regional and international context of the two cases is similar either. This is why the consequences of Kosovo’s independence will probably be felt more in the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) or Europe rather than in the Far East, states the author.

• The Kosovan State is unviable
  por Raquel Sánchez Bujaldón
• Kosovo´s final status: another chapter of turmoil in the Balkans?
  por Borja Lasheras
• China-Taiwan: Playing with...the Torch
  por Xulio Ríos

The failed meetings between Warsaw and Moscow are numerous and complex. Poland continues to view Russia as a threat, but Donald Tusk’s brand new cabinet intends to confront its great neighbor with a new strategy: to promote negotiation in view of the conflict. The objective of Warsaw is two-fold: to win allies that reinforce their position with respect to Moscow and to promote a more united stance within the heart of the European Union, one critical of the Russian excesses.

• Poland Wagers for Change
  por Mercedes Herrero de la Fuente
• The United States, Russia, and the "new" missile crisis
  por Zidane Zeraoui

Today Brazil receives an important flow of capital in the form of direct, as well as financial, investments, partly induced by the differential between the American and domestic interest rates. What would happen if the United States were to effectively slip into a recession and the Federal Reserve were to decide to continue lowering the rates? What would the consequences for the local economy be?

• Brazil is looking to accelerate its growth
  por Marcelo Luchino
• The Globalization of Brazil
  por Marcelo Luchino