It is the largest existing international organization. It is defined as a global government partnership that facilitates cooperation on issues such as international law, international peace and security, economic and social development, humanitarian affairs and human rights. It was founded on October 24, 1945, at the end of World War II, as part of the San Francisco Conference, as a substitute for the former League of Nations.

This organization is structured in various administrative bodies: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, General Secretariat, Trusteeship Council and the International Court of Justice. The main public figure of the UN is the General Secretary, position exerted by the Portuguese socialist Politician António Guterres, who assumed the position on January 1 of 2017

It emerges as an intergovernmental organization that integrates the international community and serves as a tool for governments to address global issues and problems and to take action on almost all issues of concern to humanity. These issues are analyzed according to a series of purposes and principles established in chapter 1 of the "Charter of the United Nations", with the following objectives: 

  • Maintain peace and national security.
  • Enhance friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principles of equality of rights and self-determination of peoples.
  • Foster international cooperation to solve international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems.
  • Promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
  • To be a center of harmonization among nations to achieve common ends.

They are neither an entity above the states nor a government of governments. They do not have their own army and do not collect taxes. The Organization is subject to the political will of its members for the implementation of the decisions and depends on the contributions of its members for the execution of the activities.

They play a central role in several issues of general interest such as:Reduce international tensions.

  • Prevent conflicts.
  • End the hostilities that have already taken place.
  • Legislation on the environment, outer space and the seabed.
  • Eradicate diseases.
  • Increase food production.
  • Assisting and protecting refugees.
  • Fight against illiteracy.
  • React quickly in natural disaster situations.
  • Establish global norms in the field of human rights.
  • Protect and promote the rights of all people.

For this work and the achievements of the Organization and its specialized agencies, as well as various personages related to the UN, they were recognized with the Nobel Prize of Peace in 2001.

According to the Charter, the official languages of the United Nations are Chinese, Spanish, French, English and Russian. In addition, Arabic has been added as the official language of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council.

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It is the world institution organized for peace and social development, responsible for the elaboration and supervision of the International Labor Standards. It is the only "tripartite" agency of the United Nations, as representatives of governments, employers and workers participate together in the development of their policies and programs as well as the promotion of decent work for all. This unique way of reaching agreements gives the OIT an advantage by incorporating "real-world" knowledge about employment and work.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, declarations began in Brussels and the founding of an international organization for workers. After the First World War, the foundations of what is now known as the International Labor Organization (ILO) are being laid.

The International Labor Organization was founded in 1919 by the society of nations and, at the time of its disappearance, it subsists as a permanent and specialized body of the United Nations.

In 1817 Robert Owen, Scottish industrialist imagines an international social legislation. 20 years later Jerónimo Adolfo Blanqui, French sociologist, observes that a social reform of the industry to be operative had to have worldwide reach. In 1847, Daniel Dgrand, French industrialist tried to have France legislate the International Association of Workers - led by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels (1847) -, launched their celebrated manifesto "proletarians of all countries united ". In 1866 the congress of the International Association of Workers advocates international labor legislation.

In 1901 an international association for the legal protection of workers was founded in Brussels. In 1906 they adopted two international conventions. The war of 1914 to 1918, interrupted the activity of the association.

The 26th Session of the International Labor Conference, held in Philadelphia on May 10, 1944, adopted a declaration for the purposes and objectives of that international organization, which are none other than human well-being and social justice. The Philadelphia Declaration considers fundamentally that: 

  • Work is not a commodity
  • Freedom of expression and succession is essential for progress
  • Poverty everywhere is a danger to the prosperity of all.
  • The struggle must be pursued with unceasing energy within each nation and through an international effort.
  • Universal and permanent peace can only be concerned with social justice.
  • All human beings without distinction of race or sex have the right to pursue their material well-being and spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity of security and equality of opportunity.

It is the only obligation of it (ILO) to comment among all the nations of the world programs that allow:

a) achieving full employment and raise living standards.

b) employing workers in occupations in which they can contribute to the maximum to the common welfare.

c) granting as a means to achieve vocational training opportunities transfer of workers including labor migration and settlers.

 d) to adopt a minimum living wage for all those in employment and in need of such protection in respect of wages and earnings and hours and others.

e) to achieve effective recognition of the right of collective bargaining, the cooperation of employers and workers to improve the production and collaboration of workers.

(f) extend social security measures to ensure that those who need basic income and complete medical care are available.

g) to adequately protect the life and health of workers in all occupations.

h) to protect children and motherhood.

 i) to provide adequate food, shelter and means of recreation and culture;

j) guarantee equal educational and professional opportunities.

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It is a mass organization that develops policies and programs aimed at achieving the full exercise of the equality of women in all spheres and levels of society, among other aspects.

Among the objectives of this organization is to provide systematically its contribution to the training and well-being of the new generations.

Before the founding of the FMC, there were several organizations that grouped the women in favor of the Cuban revolutionary process as a Revolutionary Feminine Unit that brought together a large number of peasant women, the Agrarian Column, the Revolutionary Women's Brigades, the Humanist Women's Groups, the Brotherhood Mothers and others who merged into a new and unique women's organization: the Federation of Cuban Women.

Created in August 1960, the main objective was the incorporation of women into society and employment, as well as the ongoing social and economic change program in the country. Since its establishment, the Federation of Cuban Women has Vilma Espín Guillois as president, who was a member of the Council of State and headed the Commission for Attention to Women, Children and Youth of the National Assembly of People's Power, participating in the formulation of the laws that have to do with women, the discussion and elaboration of the Family Code, approved in 1975. On the death of Vilma Espín in 2007, the leadership of the organization fell to the general secretary of the organization Yolanda Ferrer and in 2012 Teresa Amarelle Boué was elected General Secretary.

It is structured territorially at national, provincial, municipal and base level. Its National Directorate is composed of a National Committee and a Secretariat, responsible for enforcing the agreements adopted at each Congress, the highest governing body held every five years. The National Committee brings together women representative of all social sectors and those who are in decision-making positions in key ministries, the Communist Party of Cuba, trade unions and other social organizations.

The President of the FMC is a member of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba and heads the Commission of Attention to Women, Children and Youth of the National Assembly of People's Power.

Its coordination work can be seen in the programs implemented jointly with various ministries and government agencies, particularly the Women's Coordination Commissions, which aim to improve women's labor participation and avoid discrimination in recruitment.

The organization created the Women and Family Counseling Houses in which multidisciplinary teams are integrated by different specialists in Psychology, Psychiatry, Pedagogy and social workers with the objective of providing assistance to people who need to know how to lead a family life , thus assuming the family as the main social nucleus where different problems and conflicts related to alcoholism, intra family violence, divorces, among others, affect the behaviors of those who are mainly children and the elderly.

Women's health is addressed with priority in Women's and Family Counseling Houses working on women's awareness, for example, by showing them the importance of cytology testing to prevent uterine cancer, breast self-examination and The measures to protect against the infection of sexually transmitted diseases, taking into account that medical services in Cuba are free. This is an important work in the work of this organization in order to meet the requirements of Cuban women in the current times.

Main actions

To organize and group women around the stated objectives, to study and promote legislation on women and family.  To promote women's rights and ways to sue them. Women and Family Counseling Houses, municipal entity of the FMC that provides advice and information through professionals and affiliates to the organization.

To coordinate with ministries and other agencies, of specific programs for women (education, health, training, etc.). To coordinate actions with non-governmental, national and foreign organizations working with women. To research on the main problems facing women, their interests and opinions. The pubglishing of the Magazine Mujeres, aimed at promoting a non-sexist image of women. Center for Information and Documentation on Women.

Requirements for Incorporation

To join the Federation, as it is commonly known, the only requirements are the voluntary nature of women and be 14 years old. Almost four million affiliates already have this organization. It was founded on the basis of the union of all existing Cuban women's revolutionary organizations.

Actions of women's benefits

In these institutions created by the FMC, there are taught training, computer, hairdressing, cutting and sewing and makeup courses, among others, giving non-professional women and housewives the opportunity to join the social life.

The Program Educate your child is another of the actions of social benefit to which the mass organization directs its attention. It is aimed specifically at the attention given by federates to children who from the age of 2 and up to 5 do not attend the institutions that have the education sector to prepare children for school life for various reasons , mainly because mothers do not work and care for their children.

In this sense, the organization has social workers and social workers who engage in the participation of mothers and the family in different instructive-recreational activities that prepare infants and the family nucleus for a full incorporation into school life.

Present

According to the Report to Plenary of the National Committee of the FMC, on July 24, 2010, the organization groups more than four million Cubans and is structured in 13,539 blocks and 79,828 delegations throughout the Island.

Women in Cuba also make up more than 46 percent of those employed in the civilian state sector; Exceed 65 percent of professionals and technicians, and are 39 percent of the leaders.

After the last elections of the Popular Power, they were almost 40 percent of the delegates, 29.5 percent of the presidents of municipal assemblies. According to June 2010 data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Cuba ranked fourth in the world by the number of women in its Parliament (43.2 percent), above countries with such fame as Norway or Finland.

Among its most important tasks, it coordinates the work of 81 thousand 260 voluntary social workers and 78 thousand 624 health brigadistas who support in the neighborhoods the massive campaigns of vaccination and the prevention against dengue, AH1-N1 Influenza or HIV / AIDS. It also governs the work of the Women and Family Counseling Houses, a space that addresses the problems in the family, including early motherhood, alcoholism or violence. There are 175 of these agencies throughout the country, with 8,448 volunteer collaborators who also share space with the jurists, as a multidisciplinary advisory group, in the newly created Family Courts.

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It is a country located almost entirely in North America, also comprising a state in Oceania. It is made up of 50 states and one federal district: Washington D.C, the country capital. With 309 million inhabitants, it is the third most populous country in the world, although it is far from the first two, China and India.

Recognized as the empire of this era, it is the most powerful nation of all time. Established as an independent nation in 1776, it has achieved remarkable economic, scientific and military development.

It has historically been characterized by forcibly depriving other nations and countries of territories and natural resources in order to put them at the service of their enterprises and monopolies. With only 4% of the world's population, it consumes 25% of the energy produced on the planet, and despite its wealth more than a third of its population has not insured medical care.

The name United States of America was proposed by Thomas Paine and was officially used for the first time in the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July, 1776. It is often said in abridged form United States. Sometimes it is incorrectly called the United States of North America, resulting in a confusion in its gentilicio.

In Spanish, the use of North America as an abbreviated form of the name of this country is not acceptable, since there are other nations that share the North American subcontinent. Similarly, America should not be used to refer exclusively to the United States, even though it is a widespread custom among English-speaking people to use the name of the continent as an abbreviated form of the name of the nation.

When writing, is usually used the abbreviation EE. UU. (that must be written with an intermediate space and points for being an abbreviation and not an acronym) and, to a lesser extent, the acronym EUA. In Spanish it is totally incorrect, although frequent, the use of the English acronym USA.

At a time when Spain was a colonial power, it was called American to anyone who had been born somewhere in America, in the United Kingdom, a century after the discovery, Americans were called to the settlers who lived in the Portions of North America that this other kingdom was occupying, and that included the annexed territory called Nova Francia.

The influence of the United States in Europe and in the world has practically contributed to monopolizing the gentilicio for itself. The use of "american" (American English) is now widespread in English-speaking countries and other languages because of its influence, although in the Spanish language the most common denomination is still that of Americans.

It must be taken into account that the term "American" is not exclusive to people living in the United States, American is anyone who lives in America, taking into account that America is a continent.

Government and politics

The United States is a constitutional republic, presidential and federal. His government has limited powers enumerated in the Constitution of the United States but the president has a nuclear briefcase with which he can unleash the destruction of the world. Its form of government is known as "presidential democracy" because there is a president. The election of the president is indirect through compromisarios and in them they play a decisive role the corporations that contribute the millionaires funds for the electoral publicity.

Electoral system

The powers of the president reach not only the leadership of the State, but also the executive power and the veto power of some decisions of the legislative power. There are three levels of government: the federal level, the state level, and the local level. The leaders of these territorial administrations are elected by voters by universal suffrage or appointed by other elected officials.

All Americans have the right to vote from the age of 18 but there are limits on the right to vote for those who are in prison for committing crimes that carry the restriction of the vote as an accessory penalty; In some states criminal and penitentiary legislation restricts the right to vote even though the sentence has been served, and residents of the federal district and the federal district are represented only by one Congressional delegate who does not vote. To exercise the right to vote, you have to register in a voter register.

The country is made up of 50 autonomous states in its internal regime. The main political parties are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, which dominate the political scene so some consider the system of this country as a bipartisan democracy but authors like Michael Moore speak of there being only one party: the rich. Other minor parties are the Green Party, the Constitution Party and the Libertarian Party but their role is symbolic because they do not have the economic resources for a national campaign, they are virtually unrepresentative because the Democratic and Republican parties have more than 95% of the territorial representation.

The US electoral system, despite its central role in the political system of that country, presents a series of contradictions increasingly pronounced as the nation has expanded, both in terms of territory and in terms of the definition of Regional and global imperialist interests.

The participation of citizens in the electoral processes, whether as voters or candidates, presents serious impediments, which make the practice move away from what can be considered paradigmatic in the exercise of democracy.

Many impediments are put in place for voters to vote because the elections are held on a business day and it is necessary to move to where the appropriate polling station works, since voting is not compulsory and the responsibility to vote falls entirely on the citizen, many People do not vote

In order to show the people's lack of participation in local elections, suffice it to say that in 1999, the mayor of the city of Dallas was elected with a vote of 5% of the registered voters and San Antonio with 7.5%. Regarding the presidential elections, we already know that the Presidents are elected with little more than 20%, and sometimes, as in 2000, instead of elected.

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Cultural event considered the most significant event of the Cuban publishing movement.

It began to be celebrated in 1982, with a biannual cycle, and since 2000 it takes place annually. It has its permanent headquarters at San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress in Havana.

Each edition is dedicated to a different writer and country. This fair also extends to the other provinces of the country. It is also known as the International Book Fair of Cuba.

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Called this way to honor Spanish King Carlos III. It began to be built in 1763, under the direction of the military engineer Silvestre Abarca. He got up on the high bank of the Port of Havana, an area that had been defenseless until that moment. At the end of its construction, in 1774, it was the largest Spanish fortress built in America.

It is stated that already in the 16th century, the engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli, builder of El Morro had warned the authorities of the Island about the strategic value of the hill of the Cabaña. Nevertheless, the hill remained unprotected and was the breach that the English troops took advantage of, in 1762, to attack El Morro and later to render Havana. After that event, King Charles III ordered the immediate fortification of that high bank, which was entrusted to the military engineer Silvestre Abarca.

The strategic position of the fortress, linked with that of El Morro, and the ten hectares that occupied with more than 700 meters of wall, made it the largest of the Island and America. Its complex design applies the most advanced concepts of military engineering of the eighteenth century and makes San Carlos de la Cabaña an exponent of the change experienced in defensive systems at the time.

Its military capacity was great and so was the armament it had. In 1859 it had 120 guns and bronze howitzers of different calibers. It is estimated that in 1863 the military equipment could be 245 pieces of artillery, in addition to other light weapons of short reach.

Since its construction, La Cabaña housed the elite units of the Spanish army in Cuba. During the wars of independence, it served as a prison, and its moat was a site for firing squad. In the twentieth century, the defensive character disappeared, the fortress served as warehouse, troops housing and prison. At the triumph of the Revolution, it was occupied by the commander Ernesto Guevara, who established his command there.

The restoration works began in 1986, in a coordinated effort between the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana to create the Morro Cabaña Military Historical Park.

In 1992, after the restoration, the Museum of Arms, the Museum of the Command of Che, and a Monographic Museum were opened, describing the history of the fort. In addition, since then, its spaces have hosted cultural events such as the Biennial of Visual Arts in Havana and the International Book Fair of Havana.

The Cabaña plant has a main body, composed of two extreme semibaluartes (San Francisco and San Lorenzo) and a central bastion (San Ambrosio), joined by curtains to land. Towards the port it presents a massive escarpment; It is surrounded by a colossal moat with two lunettes and two pincers. The façade has an arched opening, covered from the start, and framed by attached columns that support an entablature decorated with masks.

In the inside part, of monumental scale, the place of arms and the barracks, with ramps and streets of circulation for the troops. At one end of the western quarter is the chapel, with an elegant front, which contrasts with the bare walls of the whole. Almost at the water level, very close to the west end of the fortress, the battery of the Divina Pastora, prior to the construction of La Cabaña, is conserved.

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Born on June 3, 1931 in Birán, then Oriente province. He made his first studies in the city of Santiago de Cuba and later he moved to Havana. There he passed the secondary education and entered the University, where he participated in the student struggles against the corrupt government of Carlos Prío Socarrás and the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista.

In 1953 he attended as a delegate the International Conference for the Defense of the Youth Rights, held in Vienna. He was invited to participate in the Meeting of the International Preparatory Committee of the Fourth World Festival of Youth and Students in Bucharest.

Later he was part of the young people who on July 26 of that same year attacked the Moncada Barracks in the city of Santiago de Cuba, where he directed the group that took the Palace of Justice in support of the main action commanded by Fidel. For such acts he was sentenced to 13 years in prison and transferred to the Presidio of the Isle of Pines.

In 1956 he was amnestied along with the rest of the assailants thanks to the popular struggle. The persecution of the tyranny forced him to enter in the Embassy of Mexico and soon he moved to that country. In Mexican lands he participated in the preparations for the expedition that culminated with the landing of the Granma Yatch, on December 2, 1956. After the dispersion following the first combat of the Rebel Army in Alegria de Pio, he was in charge of a small group of four expeditioners until December 18 in which he manages to meet Fidel Castro in the place known as Cinco Palmas, in Purial de Vicana.

He participated in the campaign of the Sierra Maestra, and on February 27, 1958 by his merits Fidel ascended him to Commander. At that time they were entrusted to cross the then Oriente province as head of a column to open, northeast of that territory, the Second Eastern Front "Frank País", which he led until the end of the liberation war.

After the revolutionary triumph of January 1st, 1959 Raul Castro was designated military chief of the province of Oriente. In October of that year, when the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) was created, he was appointed Minister.

He was part of the National Directorate of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations, and later the National Directorate of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba. In October 1965, when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was created, he was elected as its Second Secretary, and ratified as such in the II, III, IV, and V Congresses of the organization.

He has been a deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power since its creation in 1976, and on December 3 of that year he was elected First Vice-President of the Councils of State and Ministers.

For the services rendered to the defense of the country, he was promoted to the rank of Army General the 15 on November 15, 1976.

On the occasion of the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of his promotion to Commander of the Rebel Army on February 27, 1998, he was granted along with the Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque, the honorific title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba And "Orden Máximo Gómez" First Degree, in consideration of his long career, his great revolutionary merits and the consecration to duty during these years.

He has also received other national and foreign decorations.

Raul Castro Ruz has made notable contributions to the Cuban Revolution as a political leader, statesman and military chief. In this last aspect, he emphasizes his decisive participation at the head of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, in the results in the preparation of the country for the defense and in the practical application of the conception of the War of the Whole People.

Since 2008 Raúl Castro is the President of the Republic of Cuba.

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From the authorship of Roger Arrazcaeta Delgado and Jorge F. Garcell Domínguez, published by Montecallado Publishing House.

A necessary book that dismantles an important group of paradigms which had been present in previous studies on the rock art of Cuba for decades, including those on the sites of the called Region Pictográfica de Guara.

The research undertaken by Roger Arrazcaeta and Jorge F. Garcell, together with their work team, whose results are presented in this essay, redefines the view we have made of these cave paintings from the archeology, making use of the honesty that must characterize science. The reader is exposed to the elements of all the designs that appear in these localities, breaking with the monothematic look towards the images of indeterminate quadrupeds with horns that had characterized the approaches of the last three decades. This way, the reader receives real information from the object of study, and is able to perceive how, for years, the information on these sites was handled by bringing the braza to the pan

The work presented by Arrazcaeta and Garcell also approaches the geomorphic or toponymic problems of the area under study, presenting a fair claim for the redefinition of the area and the caves as Cuevas de Las Charca, in tune with the geographical location and the geology surrounding them, but, moreover, in correspondence with the popular and regional culture that has called these caves for more than three centuries.

Finally, this book introduces us in a reanalysis on the possible executors of this art, also breaking the traditional schemes, and dismantling in a structured form the tendencies to consider it of Afrocuban origin. Here we find a complete discussion of the numerous objects and archaeological elements that, since 1947, have been recovered by the researchers in the region, where aboriginal omnipresence is appreciated throughout the area.

In this sense, the work does not reject the postcolombian invoice of the drawings, taking into account their themes and morphology, but associates them - starting, as we have already said, with archaeological evidence and, above all, historical documents dusted in archives by the authors, with the aborigines of the so-called Pueblo Indio de Guanabacoa, a reservation established by the Spaniards on June 12, 1554, to "protect" the native inhabitants after His Majesty granted them freedom

Las cuevas de Las Charcas. Rock Art in Mayabeque is a proposal where the criticism and the questioning of the old paradigms are not ethereal, are based on the work experiences of their authors, in those places, for more than thirty years, which has endowed them with an enviable volume of archaeological and historical information.

This has allowed them to treasure a wealth of knowledge that no other Cuban researcher can show. Whether or not we are in agreement with some of the approaches of this work, we must recognize that it is the fruit of the work of the most authoritative investigators to explain and interpret the historical and social evolution of cave art in Las Charcas caves.

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Cuban Revolutionary born in Havana on December 14, 1928 in Güines, province of Havana, and assassinated in Santiago de Cuba in 1953, during the assault on the Moncada Barracks. He is considered the poet of the Generation of the Centennial. In his honor it is celebrated every December 14 the Day of the Worker of Culture.

From his adolescence he collaborated with student and regional publications and radio stations, as well as in civic acts, with the intention of divulging the redemptive ideas that from childhood were transmitted to him by his descendant family of mambises.

A loving son, enthusiast of sports, passionate about poetry, philosophy, history, he was born with a vocation of communicator, which studies and early practice, improved.

His parents Alfredo and Virginia were natural of Güines but by that time resided in the capital. When Raul was 8 years old, the family returned to Güines because the father had died of a medical condition, so Raúl passed the primary in schools in Havana and Güines. At 14 years of age he enrolled in the Secondary Education Institute in the town of Mayabeque. Here he stood out as an athlete and also because of his great writing ability, which made him collaborate with the newspaper "El Estudiantil" where he denounced the various problems that were happening , So he accused the then director of the Center for his immoral attitude of sales of notes, abuses with teachers and employees and also with students.

In 1947 his expulsion from the school center was imminent. His brother Cesar managed to process the transfer for the Institute of La Vibora. This one arrives with a remarkable academic record and concludes the Baccalaureate in the course 1947-1948.

He enrolled in Law at the University and remains in the same 2 years, since working as a substitute teacher in the Baldor School discovers that his true vocation was Pedagogy, which was 2 years, being interrupted when participating in the action of the Moncada.

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