Havana, June 29 (RHC)-- Cuba is in a much better position to face the economic difficulties deriving from the reinforcement of the US blockade and the full implementation of the Helms-Burton Act, said Cuban president Miguel Diaz Canel Friday at the closing of a governmental visit to Pinar del Rio --Cuba’s westernmost province.

In remarks broadcast by national television, the president said that the diversification of the economy, the experiences gathered during the 1990s under the leadership of the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, guarantee that there will not be a repetition of hardships and scarcities that the island experienced during the so called “special period”.

In explaining the economic package just adopted by the Council of Ministers, Diaz Canel said that accounting will be reinforced, good practices will be expanded, and he stressed that measures will not be static.

He added that new financing mechanism will be established to expedite exports or substitution of imports, and that state companies will be allowed to fully or partially keep hard currency earnings after fulfilling their committed exports, so that they can expand their possibilities.

The Cuban leader noted that domestic trade will be reorganized, to increase retail sales that guarantees population needs in order to avoid the current flight of capital to other countries used by the population for the import of goods.

Regarding the pay raise targeting the budgeted sector, the president stressed that it marks the beginning of the correction of the current inverted social pyramid, in which less qualified workers earn more than professionals.