Alejandro Gil, Minister of Economy and Planning, in National Assembly Committees, Economic Affairs.

Photo: Ismael Francisco/ Cubadebate.

With the presence of the Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, the annual balance of the Ministry of Economy and Planning was developed on Wednesday afternoon.

During the meeting, it was confirmed that Cuba projects a growth of around 3 percent for the year 2023.

When analyzing the international context in which the Cuban economy operates, Alejandro Gil Fernández, minister of the sector, explained that

in 2023 a slowdown of the world economy is projected due to high inflation, the increase in interest rates and the reduction of investments.

“The outlook presents adverse risks, projections indicate that slow global growth could significantly affect commodity prices, which would undermine the economic activities of exporting countries.

A further tightening of global financial conditions could also stress the most vulnerable economies,” he said.

In this sense, he added that

the outlook for Latin America is a growth of its GDP in the order of 1.3 percent.

In the case of Cuba, the minister stressed, it is a year in which the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on us by the United States government persists, the inputs we import become more expensive, with an insufficient recovery of foreign exchange earnings and with the forecast of strengthening the motor activities that generate exports, the establishment of priorities aligned with the objective situation and the necessary complementarity of the economic actors.

Gil

highlighted the more dynamic recovery of tourism and other productive sectors as factors that place the country in a better situation for a faster recovery of its economy.

However, he also recognized the negative issues that affected economic performance in 2022, including partial dollarization in relations between companies and between these and the non-state sector;

retail inflation;

centralized access to foreign exchange for exporting sectors;

the effective insertion of the new economic actors;

and the negative results of the state business system with more than 400 companies with losses.

Prime Minister: We have to do things differently

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, Manuel Marrero Cruz,

recognized the complex economic situation that the country is going through and called for doing different things to achieve recovery and development.

This was expressed during the annual balance of the Ministry of Economy and Planning, where work priorities were evaluated in 2023.

Marrero Cruz said that there is total clarity on the problem, but that the pending answer is

how to get out of this situation.

He pointed out that there is a consensus that

things can be done with the reserves you have, but that everything requires a level of currency.

“How do we get more currency?

This issue requires thought,” he stated.

The prime minister explained that

the situation is very complex because problems from previous years have been accumulating and among all the impacts is the intensified blockade by the United States.

“Investments have to be achieved and that has to be done with credit, but without that it is very difficult.

The inclusion of Cuba in the list of sponsors of terrorism is one of the ones that does us the most damage because it closes the doors of the international financial system for us,” he denounced.

He added that Cuba defeated the COVID-19 pandemic, but not the economic crisis that it unleashed.

Added to this is the armed conflict in Europe, which affects world trade.

“2023 is going to be a different year, but for it to be, you have to do different things.

Consecration and reinforcement are not enough if they are not accompanied by results.

We have self-blocking, we must wage an open war against inefficiencies and bungling,” he emphasized.

Marrero Cruz urged to unite all the collective intelligence and achieve unity to find a solution to the purposes.

“From the government we have to do different things.

You have to organize a government on the street, ”he proposed.

The prime minister also referred to the macroeconomic stabilization program as the key to all these issues.

“The mechanisms for the allocation of foreign currency must be reviewed.

As long as we continue to maintain the current schemes, we are not going to make the state company the main economic actor.

We see abusive prices and inflation.

We say that for there to be more offers, we need foreign currency and we return to the same circle”, he concluded.

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