The Cuban Handshake

Havana (Prensa Latina) In 2024, Cuba faced big challenges related to disasters, the tightening of unilateral coercive measures, and its own internal deficiencies, although its will to continue to fight did not give up.

By Melissa King Smith, from the National Editorial Team

The Caribbean island maintains a strong political and governmental stance focused on overcoming economic difficulties, as well as resuming the path of growth and development.

In order to exploit its potential at full capacity, the implementation of the Government’s projections to correct distortions and boost the economy continued, a strategy to face the challenges arising from an external economic war and an exacerbated global financial crisis.

According to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, although we are starting to see the results thanks to the measures taken so far, the outcome is still insufficient, “but we are not sitting on our hands.” As encouraging signs of the actions put into practice, the head of State mentioned the improvement in agricultural production this year, higher sowing volumes (the best in the last 10 years), and the reduction of the fiscal deficit with systematic work and technical rigor.

One of the most complex situations that Cuba went through in 2024 was the three-time collapse of the National Power System due to its vulnerability and shortage of fuel.

In this regard, the president explained at the 4th Ordinary Session of the National People’s Power Assembly in its 10th Legislature that a strategy was launched to expand the use of renewable energies and improve the generation capacity.

He pointed out that these actions will allow using fuels better and allocating a significant part of them to the domestic production of goods and services, which is expected to reduce imports.

Cuba also approved a financing scheme in foreign currency to support the domestic oil industry in order to increase oil and gas production.

Before more than 400 lawmakers, Díaz-Canel expressed certainty that one day we will overcome the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States and Cuba’s inclusion in the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list (according to Washington), “but the reality is that we are still under the effects of both aggressive measures.”

Díaz-Canel pointed out that the weight of global circumstances on the performance of the domestic economic should not be underestimated, and emphasized that this forces the Cuban revolutionary leadership to exercise more responsibility and self-criticism to maximize results and reduce the obstacles that impede progress.

In his opinion, progress must be made in macroeconomic stabilization, in tax discipline, in linking the state and non-state sectors to contribute to national development, as well as taking advantage of the potential to promote exports of goods and services.

CUBA VS THE US BLOCKADE

This year, amidst various difficult and emergency situations, the hostile US policy continued, including the unilateral inclusion of Cuba in the SSOT list.

According to the head of State, in these months, the essence of this criminal and genocidal blockade and the multidimensional war that we face was confirmed.

“Yes, there is a blockade; yes, the blockade has been intensified; yes, there is an economic war; yes, they despise us; yes, they poison us vulgarly, obscenely and full of hate on social networks,” he stressed at the 9th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.

Díaz-Canel indicated at the party meeting that Cuba is willing to talk and develop relations of respect and equality with the United States, but will not allow any attempt at interfering in its internal affairs.

“We will continue to be open to dealing with the people of the United States, (…) trying to avoid the harsh prohibitions that the government of that country imposes on its own people in order to prevent their natural connection with a worthy and friendly neighbor in the absurd attempt at preventing them from knowing the true Cuba,” he added.

Regarding the new US government, he said, “We are aware of the possible implications associated with the arrival to power in the United States of a new government, in which they will have great political influence with very aggressive intentions against Cuba.”

“As we have said, it was a foreseeable scenario and we have been preparing ourselves in advance,” he added.

In order to denounce these coercive measures, more than 500,000 Havana residents, representing all Cubans, took part in a “March of the Combatant People.”

Participants demanded the lifting of a blockade imposed for more than six decades, intensified to unprecedented levels in recent years, and Cuba’s exclusion from the State Department’s SSOT list.

At the beginning of the popular parade, Díaz-Canel stated that President Joe Biden did not reverse the policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump (2017-2021), as he promised during his presidential campaign.

With the implementation of 243 additional measures and keeping Cuba on the SSOT list, Biden complied in a disciplined and cruel way with the policy that Trump approved during his term, he pointed out.

He stressed that pointing to Cuba as a State that allegedly sponsors terrorism is at the very least false and immoral, wherever the accusation comes from, but it is doubly so when it comes from US territory.

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Jan 1 (Presnsa Latina) At the gates of a new calendar year, the traces of 2024, a year of challenges, are beginning to be sealed in that sort of book under permanent construction that is our national history.

From food shortages to the energy crisis, Cuba faced in the last 12 months adversities that would have discouraged many, anywhere in the world; however, the people rose again and again, as part of the efforts to reinvent itself in the midst of a context of resistance.

The policy of economic, commercial and financial siege that the US has been imposing on the island for more than six decades is the main cause of the problems faced by the nation, a situation that does not go unnoticed by the international community, which once again reaffirmed its strong support for the island by approving, for the 32nd time, a resolution demanding the end of the blockade, with quantifiable damages of more than 1,499.71 billion dollars.

ELECTRICITY, THE GREAT CHALLENGE

The energy crisis was the most evident consequence of the difficulties the country must face to guarantee the stable supply of fuels, investments in the sector and the necessary repair and maintenance cycles in thermoelectric plants.

Three times, for different reasons, the National Electric System (SEN) was disconnected during the last quarter of 2024, which meant the paralyzation of many activities of the national life and a heroic commitment on the part of the workers of the electric sector, who worked tirelessly in the difficult task of reestablishing the service for the whole nation.

However, it was not all bad news. The announcement of the installation, until 2028, of 92 photovoltaic solar parks in Cuba, with the capacity to generate 2,000 megawatts (mw) of power (more than 20 mw each), gave hope to the people of better conditions possible in the short term. This will mean to stop importing 750,000 tons of fuel.

In addition, the longest oil well in Cuba, Varadero 1012, was completed, which was a milestone.

THE FORCE OF NATURE

Nature gave us no respite either. Hurricane Oscar, in October, remained stationary for more than 20 hours in the Guantánamo area, causing severe flooding due to heavy rains, loss of human lives and essential goods in a region traditionally affected by drought. These impacts added fundamental challenges to the recovery of four municipalities in the country that already had significant challenges to their development, such as the impact, in October 2016, of Hurricane Mathew.

A little less than a month later, in early November, Hurricane Rafael crossed the province of Artemisa with category 3, generating the destruction of thousands of homes and significant damage to electrical infrastructure, as well as to agriculture. At the same time, the damage affected the pumping of water from the supply sources located in Mayabeque and Artemisa.

International solidarity was notable and immediate. In addition to the solidarity shipments from the provinces that were not affected, and destined for those that were hardest hit, there were loads of essential resources and financial donations from the United Nations system and countries such as Venezuela, Russia, China, Mexico, among others.

NOT LOSING WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED

Despite the difficulties, the year also brought victories. Cuban athletes became ambassadors of an indomitable spirit at the Paris-2024 Olympic Games. With a total of nine medals, including two gold, one silver and six bronze, the Cuban delegation ranked 32nd in the medal table.

Significant decisions were also made in the social sphere. One of them was the Government’s announcement of a three-month extension of the maternity benefit.

In addition, despite its instability, ensuring the standard family basket remained a priority, despite all the limitations, since importing resources has become a real odyssey, due to the financial persecution by the United States.

THE HOPE FOR TOURISM

For the year 2025, 2,600,000 arrivals of foreign visitors are predicted, which means an 18% growth over the estimate for the calendar that concludes, informed Juan Carlos García Granda, Minister of Tourism.

He emphasized the need to perfect a closed financing scheme and guarantee compliance with standards throughout the country’s tourism system.

The main destination continues to be Matanzas, followed by Havana, the keys of Villa Clara and Ciego de Avila, and Holguin.

On the positive side, electronic commerce in the sector is consolidated, and progress continues to be made to complete the use of all electronic payment channels, “under the principle that the banking process is a fundamental premise for providing a quality service,” he added.

THE ECONOMIC SCENARIO IS COMPLEX, BUT WE CANNOT RENOUNCE TO MOVE FORWARD

The complexities of the Cuban economy continue to focus the concerns of the Government and the people, with emphasis on the non-compliance in the production of goods and services, and exports, as well as the presentation of the estimates with which the Cuban economy will close in 2024.

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, highlighted in the last session of the Cuban Parliament the importance of the discreet decrease in the budget deficit estimated for the closing of 2024, in the midst of a war economy context.

This result supports the country’s Macroeconomic Stabilization Program, with a reduction in the inflation rate which, although it does not directly influence the decrease in prices, positively helps the conception of the State Budget for 2025.

In this regard, Díaz-Canel commented that the result has been possible because the country has moved from the contemplation of economic facts to action against the high levels of tax evasion and other issues that have a negative impact on the country’s economic dynamics.

However, he pointed out that there is still a lot of work to be done, as there are still high levels of under-declaration, indiscipline in the payment of fines and taxes, among other problems and illegalities.

The President said that the 2025 Budget plan, in addition to reducing the budget deficit, will focus investments on the most complex problems facing the nation, among which the process of energy transformation towards renewable sources stands out.

In this regard, he said that, to the extent that progress is made in the gradual reduction of the use of fuel for electricity generation, it will be possible to reactivate the economy with more production of goods and services.

CUBA FORESEES A 1 % GDP GROWTH BY 2025

Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, Minister of Economy and Planning, pointed out that this year there has been a limited productive recovery as a consequence of the foreign currency deficit, the effects on electricity and fuel availability, together with the negative impact of hurricanes and earthquakes, which have continued to influence internal macroeconomic imbalances and inflation, among other factors.

He pointed out that the indicators for exports of goods and services were not met, nor was it possible to achieve the goal set for tourism, which has had a negative impact on the income capacity of the economy.

In the case of Agriculture, which is another key sector for national development, he added that the production of viands, vegetables and other crops fell short of what was planned for the year, while the sugar harvest did not reach the promised figure either.

Alonso Vázquez also pointed out the negative impact of the reduction in electricity generation due to deficit, both in the generation capacity and in the availability of fuel, thus limiting the productive results.

He addressed the effects on investment processes, due to the limited availability of key resources for construction, such as steel and cement.

However, the Minister pointed out that, with a view to 2025, all the capacities of the national economy were reviewed and, based on this process, the planning for next year began with the precept of managing the current crisis, mitigating the impacts of the economic war, and advancing even under these conditions, mobilizing all possible reserves.

To this end, a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of around 1 % is planned, and the need to generate new resources, strengthen exportable items and add value to the current ones, as well as to promote exports based on knowledge and high technology, recover tourist services, and boost other professional services, together with the flow of foreign direct investment, are established as priorities.

Today, as we look back on the year that is coming to an end, it is clear that Cuba is not only a nation marked by its challenges, but also by its capacity to overcome them.
The road ahead will continue to be complex, especially marked by the rise to the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump, whose legacy against Cuba during his previous term was key to the situation the island is suffering today. In the face of that, the indomitable spirit of the Cuban people will continue to shine in the eyes of the world, never bowing down to those who try to impose their dictates on how the world should work.

 ARE PRIORITIES FOR THE COMING YEAR:

  –  Strengthen the political-ideological work.
  –  Consolidate the defense of the Homeland.
  –  Preserving internal order and confronting crime.
  –  The recovery of the National Electric System.
  –  The implementation of the new mechanism for the allocation of foreign currency, as well as the closed financing schemes for the export sector.
  –  Reorganization of the foreign exchange market.
  – The improvement of the socialist state enterprise and the budgeted units.
  – The management and organization of the participation of the non-state sector in the economic and social life of the country.
  –  National production, including the expansion and consolidation of the supply of state goods and services.
   – The protection of vulnerable people, and the subsidy to people and not to products.
   –  Actions aimed at reducing social inequalities.

(Source: Speech by the Prime Minister at the 9th Plenary Session of the Party Central Committee).

[ SOURCE: GRANMA ]

Havana, Dec 30 (Prensa Latina) We will be by the side of the Caribbean island that is under siege by the United States government, assured leaders of movements and organizations from various countries during the launching today of the Marathon of Love for Cuba.

The initiative, promoted by the Continental Network of Solidarity with Cuba and Just Causes, and the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), foresees actions to increase support for the island on all continents for the end of the United States blockade and all hostile policies against the island.

Delegates from various geographic areas presented in a virtual press conference a schedule of activities that include events such as the International Colloquium Patria, next March in Havana, and the 9th Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, scheduled for December 9-12, 2025 in Mexico.

They also advocated for intensifying the Caribbean island’s struggle in the legal field, which has already been condemned by an anti-imperialist court, but can be escalated to the level of governments and parliaments in their countries so that they approve antidote laws against the blockade, explained one of the participants in the press conference.

At the launch of the Marathon, representatives of groups supporting the island proposed evaluating the declaration of a World Day against the blockade of the Caribbean nation and raising actions during the annual week of debates on the subject at the United Nations General Assembly.

In this sense, they urged the involvement of feminist and environmental sectors and movements of various kinds in this purpose, to increase donations, the support of solidarity brigades, among other actions.

The confrontation of the communication war towards the Caribbean island, the articulation with more people who support the anti-blockade discourse, and the expansion of this cause to all the nations of the African continent, are among the scopes of the Love for Cuba Marathon.

In his speech, the president of ICAP (an organization that today celebrates its 30th anniversary of its foundation), Fernando Gonzalez, described the event as “a gesture of friendship that moves and unites in the effort to globalize solidarity.”

According to the sponsors of the Marathon, “the challenge is to go knock on the doors of all sectors in our countries, where all initiatives for the love of the Cuban people fit in.”

Cuba has many friends in the world. This Marathon will help strengthen the different movements and other just causes on the Continent, which is precisely intended to be socialized with other regions of the world, they assured.

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