By Alina Perera Robbio
“In complex times, we cannot do without a passion for development.” This is a Fidel Castro-era concept that embodies the will to not be defeated, and it was shared by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, with the press team of the Presidency of the Republic.
Taking as a starting point a question alluding to the difficult times the country is experiencing and what could be done from the Island to move forward, and even grow, the dignitary shared his reflections on several measures designed to overcome the current situation. First, he spoke about the “multidimensional aggression as part of a completely aggressive policy of the United States government toward Cuba, with total contempt and an interventionist character.”
The Head of State stated that this policy “is having an impact that complicates the daily lives of Cubans.”
And he emphasized: “In every detail of the lives of Cuban men and women, in every family detail, in every detail of our economy, there are extremely complex situations that only a people as heroic as ours can face,” and which “can survive and can have the will to overcome.”
The president expressed that this is precisely what “we have to talk about”: how Cubans “are going to overcome them”; how “we are overcoming them.” He then stressed that “the United States cannot forgive itself that, at this point, with all the maximum pressure they have exerted, the Revolution continues to exist and the country continues to function. And they themselves don’t believe what they talk about and repeat so much about a failed state.”
The President of the Republic reflected that a failed state would not have been able to survive, not even for weeks, a situation like the current one; and he recalled that, as “Fidel taught us,” in complex times we cannot do without a passion for creativity, that which, “together with the unity of our people and with our will, can allow us to overcome all these challenges.” The dignitary recalled Fidel’s idea that “every opportunity in the midst of a crisis must be seized as a moment of takeoff, as a moment of growth. Therefore, we have established a set of priorities to confront this entire situation.”
The first, he said, “is preparation for defense. And you all know the intensity with which every element of the territorial defense system is being prepared; how the weekly Defense Days are being utilized and everything that is being done to refine the plans—adapting the plans to the experiences we have gained; but also seeking everything we can optimize in terms of protecting the population, of the population’s participation, in a People’s War strategy.”
The Economy and Social Issues Take Center Stage
The other major priority, the president stated, “is the Economic and Social Program for 2026.” Díaz-Canel recalled that it was submitted for public debate at the end of last year, and that from this collective reflection “many proposals emerged, especially regarding elements of transformation in the economic and social model.”
“This public debate broadened, strengthened, and reinforced the projections contained in the initial document. And respecting the opinion of our people, in recent months we have worked intensively with experts, consulting criteria, including international criteria, using Artificial Intelligence platforms,” comparing, he said, the Island’s experience with “the particularities of countries like China and Vietnam, which are also in processes of socialist construction and which, at a certain point, not as prolonged as ours, experienced blockades.”
The Head of State affirmed: “I believe that a significant portion of these ideas, of these proposals, have matured.” He explained that the measures “are being finalized for approval by the Political Bureau in the National Assembly; and immediately afterward, an information and explanation process will begin for the population, because the most important thing is that these necessary transformations are understood, shared, defended, and that we go out and implement them with complete efficiency.”
The president commented that work has been done on more than twenty issues related to economic transformation. The first of these, he specified, “has to do with the economic management system. There is a whole set of proposed measures or actions that will allow us to resolve old contradictions we have between the Plan, between central planning and the incentives.”
Díaz-Canel spoke about the importance of removing obstacles to stimulate national production, both “to offer more goods and services to our population” and to exports that generate income.
“In other words, the perspective of everything we are proposing is that together we can productively boost the country, create wealth, and distribute that wealth with social justice.” The president warned that “if we don’t have wealth, it is very difficult to move forward,” especially in social programs and in addressing “the inequalities that have been created, addressing the vulnerabilities of individuals, families, and communities.”
Along the same lines, he stated that there is a set of measures designed to resolve “the contradiction between centralization and decentralization.” He then posed several questions: “What should the country’s central planning focus on? What should it promote? What should it strategically address?” While safeguarding these essential aspects, he emphasized removing obstacles and granting powers “to other levels, so that they can carry out their own activities that also promote the endogenous potential of those areas.”
The municipality and the state-owned enterprise: key components of the national structure
Municipal autonomy and business autonomy were other priorities that the Cuban President addressed. Regarding the powers that can be granted to municipalities, he referred to creating the conditions so that these entities have “every opportunity to decide which businesses they own, which economic actors they are, what the interrelationships between these economic actors are, how local production systems are conceived and built, and how endogenous strengths are leveraged.”
He said that the municipality should have the power to import and export, and not depend on central plans; that the municipality should be able to manage foreign currency revenues based on its ability to stimulate and manage foreign direct investment in its own interests; that it should be able to manage investments or projects with Cubans residing abroad, that it should be able to approve investments by Cubans residing in Cuba, and that it should be able to facilitate all interconnections and partnerships among all economic actors.
Regarding this area of great importance to society, the Head of State spoke about the municipality being able to “have the power to export and import based on what the municipality itself generates, and that all of this should allow the municipality to defend its own development.” He emphasized that this idea “in no way contradicts national priorities; on the contrary, it reinforces them.” He reasoned:
“I believe the country will always be stronger and have greater capacity to respond to the extent that the municipalities are also stronger.” Following this same line of reasoning, he referred to the autonomy of state-owned enterprises: “That they operate without intermediaries, without interference in their management. And above all, with significant participation from the company’s workers—who are the owners, who represent the State, who represent the people’s social ownership in these companies.”
According to the plan, as the Head of State explained to reporters, based on worker participation in decision-making, “the companies will determine their size, they will design their salary systems, they will have unlimited and unhindered power to use their profits as they see fit, as they approve.”
“Collectively, they will have export and import powers; they will enter into contracts that will allow them to earn foreign currency and, in addition to their contributions to the country, have a portion of that foreign currency to expand their production and services.”
“They will be able to form economic partnerships with any type of economic actor; they will decide who their clients and suppliers are. They will develop their plans—some will respond to state orders, but other plans must facilitate production and services for export and for the population.”
The dignitary stated that “companies will have a broad scope; that is, companies will be able to produce and provide services of all kinds, taking full advantage of their potential without any limits. I believe that this will put state-owned enterprises on a level playing field with other economic actors, which is something that has been strongly demanded.”
There are ways, the President explained, in which “state-owned enterprises will be able to participate directly in the foreign exchange market. And, therefore, the foreign exchange market will also be an area where state-owned enterprises will have a presence.”
Díaz-Canel Bermúdez commented that there will also be a restructuring of the state apparatus, the government, the business sector, the Party, political organizations, and mass organizations throughout the country: “There is already a draft bill that has been made public on the National Assembly website so that the public can offer their opinions before it goes to the National Assembly; but there is a significant reduction, not only in the number of ministries, but also in the number of positions.”
This, he argued, will lead to “savings in the budget, which will then be available to support social programs or the salary reform, which we must implement as quickly as possible, especially in the budgetary sector, because in the business sector there are no limits—that is, each company designs its own salary system and pays salaries based on the revenue it is able to generate.”
The dignitary emphasized: “I believe that we will then achieve a State, a Government, and organizations that are less bureaucratic, more dynamic, and better able to adapt to the demands of our times.”
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba also stressed: “That everything we do contributes to addressing social inequalities and vulnerabilities.”
More Powers for the Proper Use of Land
The broad range of powers—the Head of State reflected—is largely aimed at stimulating and revitalizing agricultural production, food production. He referred to “the powers that will be granted for land use; to give land to those who can truly produce it; to minimize idle land; to maximize productivity; to ensure producers have access to input markets, both in foreign currency and in national currency; to give producers access to the foreign exchange market; and to enable producers from any sector—state, cooperative, private, and foreign investment, which may also be involved in food production—to interact and form partnerships.”
The Head of State also mentioned the possibility, for both State Socialist Enterprises and all sectors, “of opening real accounts in foreign currency at banks.” He also shared the idea that “all procedures for creating companies, all procedures for promoting agricultural production, should be as streamlined as possible, with minimal delays, paperwork, and bureaucracy; and that a whole range of business models should be developed among different actors, allowing us to achieve food sovereignty and self-sufficiency in food production in a short time.”
A More Dynamic Foreign Trade
The president commented on “a group of measures aimed at foreign trade, exports, value chains, and logistics,” all designed to make this area of the national structure increasingly “dynamic.” In this regard, he mentioned that “it should not be mandatory for any economic actor to export and import through intermediaries.” He added: “Those who import inputs or raw materials for production and service processes in Cuba will benefit from the import tariffs more than those who import finished products that can be manufactured domestically.”
In outlining the prerequisites for economic revitalization, the official emphasized “that deposits in real estate accounts will be respected. We are even evaluating the possibility of allowing a group of entities engaged in foreign trade to hold accounts in other countries.”
Regarding non-state management forms, Díaz-Canel stated that “prohibited activities will be limited,” with the aim of broadening the scope of each form “to allow for the development of the greatest number of activities, all within clear rules and legal frameworks.” He also said that “opportunities for shareholder participation” will be expanded.
Currently, the president affirmed, a process is underway to expedite the approval of MSMEs, both state-owned and non-state-owned, that had submitted their projects and objectives but had not yet been approved: “And all these powers will also be extended to the municipalities; therefore, the process will be simpler.”
The president emphasized the importance of “streamlining and incentivizing the special economic partnership relationships that we have already approved between state-owned and non-state-owned entities, which is something that has already been approved but has not yet been fully utilized.”
“There is also a set of provisions to incentivize foreign direct investment. These relate to surface rights, removing obstacles, the use of bank accounts, the approval times for foreign direct investment, and the expeditious manner in which responses are provided.”
“And among all this foreign direct investment, two particular forms of investment by Cubans have also been addressed: that of Cubans residing abroad and that of Cubans in Cuba. The aim is for them to participate, on equal terms, as economic actors alongside foreign direct investment, state-owned enterprises, non-state entities, and cooperatives in the country’s economic and productive fabric.”
The Cuban President asked that these transformations be viewed “within a stable, legal framework that guarantees long-term security for businesses; a framework that is respectful, secure, and above all, that incentivizes and encourages the participation of these actors.”
Cuba’s Energy Demand, Social Projections, and Other Goals
Another priority that has been addressed and promoted, as the president explained, involves the use of renewable energy sources in all sectors, and how we are becoming “less and less dependent on electricity generation using fossil fuels—especially imported fossil fuels—given the impact of this criminal energy blockade on our country, which has seen only one oil tanker enter Cuba in the last five months.”
On the topic of energy, he said, “we are committed to increasing electric mobility, both through the importation of electrical equipment and through the assembly and manufacturing of different types of equipment in Cuba.”
Addressing another high-priority task for Cuba, Díaz-Canel stated: “We will gradually eliminate subsidies for products and implement subsidies for individuals, with differentiated support for those who need it most.” He also spoke of “taking into account the social responsibility of all economic actors on our map of stakeholders,” at the municipal, provincial, and national levels.
The Head of State told reporters that “there are proposals regarding fiscal policy,” alluding to “a different relationship between the budget and state-owned enterprises, so that the budget doesn’t have to finance the inefficiency of those enterprises.”
Later in his remarks, Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said: “There is also a vision regarding monetary policy, and especially regarding a resizing and a different operation with the participation of all actors in the foreign exchange market. And here I come to the need to strengthen our financial and banking system.”
On Tourism, Fuel, Trade, and Human Capital
Regarding tourism, severely impacted by the imperialist blockade, the president alluded to the importance of moving towards “new approaches, with new players” that will allow for the development of “all the infrastructure we have.”
“We cannot, at this time, focus solely on large chains when many of them, due to pressure from the United States government, have withdrawn from the country.” Along the same lines, the Head of State referred to how “we manage businesses in the real estate and tourism sectors, with new approaches and with different players than those who have traditionally been involved in these areas.”
Furthermore, “we are going to remove, as much as possible,” the president said, “the restrictions on vehicle imports. We will always prioritize, in terms of tariffs and prices, the import of electric vehicles, including electric vehicles that are charged with solar energy.”
Regarding domestic trade, Díaz-Canel Bermúdez emphasized the importance of “leveraging our existing network of retail infrastructure and managing it more efficiently and quickly,” so that “domestic trade becomes an incentive for national production and fosters development.”
He noted that plans are underway to establish electronic invoicing nationwide and, to the extent possible, to further expand the use of digital platforms for domestic trade.
“There are also actions and measures focused on human capital, particularly on protecting the potential of our young, skilled workforce.” In this regard, the president spoke about “how we protect them through wages and incentives, so that these young people don’t have to pursue projects abroad and have the conditions and opportunities to contribute to their country’s development here.”
Cuba Has Not Stopped
Toward the end of his remarks, the Head of State spoke about “having confidence,” because “the country is not stopped. The country is intelligently confronting this entire situation. We can’t say everything so clearly because the enemy is lurking in everything we do.”
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party emphasized: “I believe our response must be one of unity. These things will be discussed openly; and anyone who has a better idea or a better proposal should share it, and it will always be considered.”
Regarding the heroic resistance of the Cuban people, he stated: “They want to condemn us every day with some measure.” The dignitary denounced rhetoric that speaks of an increasingly aggressive escalation by the empire; he spoke of “psychological warfare to intimidate us, to make us afraid, to make us surrender.” But he also considered a crucial detail in these historic days: “They don’t realize that there is a people, for the most part, willing not to surrender, not to be humiliated, and not to lose what can be improved.”
The Cuban President referred to an improvement that “we must achieve among ourselves, with our own effort and talent, not with external interference that wants nothing to do with what the Revolution has dreamed of for the Cuban people.”
[ SOURCE: CUBA DEBATE ]
