Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel proposed to the countries of the region "to resort to barter trade" [barter system], to confront inflation in Latin America.
By participating in one Virtual Summit summoned by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president said that "we agree with the proposals to facilitate and expand the exchange of goods," and added that barter is another way to face rising prices.
"I wish to add that, in addition to the elimination of tariffs and other non-tariff barriers, we can resort to barter trade. This is an attractive modality for Cuba due to the severe restrictions imposed on us by the blockade and the arbitrary and unjustified inclusion in the list of States. which, according to the United States, sponsor terrorism, which severely limits the country's financial relations," express.
Caught in a serious crisis where the regime lacks payment mechanisms and more and more doors are closed to it due to the continuous debts it acquires, Díaz-Canel urged to promote "the exchange of (essential) services, as well as cooperation to increase production of food, particularly basic foods, and basic necessities, and access to these.
In this regard, he proposed "immediately" taking advantage of the productive and industrial capacity of the countries participating in the summit to "contribute to complementarity," and he gave an example of the two fertilizer plants in Cuba which are stopped due to lack of raw materials.
"To produce NPK we need phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. If some of the countries reach an agreement with Cuba to supply these inputs, we would be in a position to produce the fertilizers and export them, and I believe that this is a scheme that can be used in other areas. and in other countries," said Díaz-Canel.
He suggested working on "the connectivity of our maritime and air transportation", on the technology transfer model for food production and in the sphere of services where - he stated - "Cuba offers, of course, its extensive experience."
Despite the health crisis on the island, Díaz-Canel said that he was "able to have 1,000 comprehensive general practitioners reach the populations that require it and also apply programs to combat chronic diseases such as diabetes and blindness."
He barter It is a form of countertrade based on the exchange of goods and services between the importer and the exporter without the movement of funds.
In these cases, the operations are documented in a single contract, the goods exchanged are specified in quantity and quality without being valued in money, and payment is made exclusively through barter.
Something similar has worked for the Caribbean island with Venezuela, to which it has exchanged labor and services for oil for years.
Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Belize and Venezuela also participated in the summit.
Díaz-Canel faces the delegitimization of his government not only due to the repressive measures aggravated in recent years, but also due to the bad policies that have led the Caribbean island to an acute economic crisis.
In recent months it has had to turn to its old allies to alleviate the problem and the resulting popular discontent, with Mexico being one of its most effective supports in Latin America.
Despite the widespread crisis, hunger, shortages of medicine and food, López Obrador said at the meeting that "Cuba is like going to live there".
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