The president of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP) of Cuba,Esteban Lazo Hernandez, stated on Wednesday that there are countries where people cannot buy things because of high prices.
In an intervention in the economic affairs commission, Lazo began to compare the Cuban situation with that of other countries, and was proud to say that the basic basket is subsidized.
"We have inflation because we have little production, but Cuba's family basket does not have inflation. Milk is not sold for the price of milk, it is sold below. Rice, which is double the price in the world market; here The price of rice in the basket has not doubled, although it is not enough, of course, here it has not doubled," he said.
The leader continued by saying that the government has not doubled the price of beans and standardized bread, despite the cost of importing ingredients such as wheat.
"It is not the price of the world, in the world there is inflation everywhere, but there are places where people cannot buy things. And it is true that since the basket is not enough, you have to go to another market, and there is where the problem is; but our basket is not an inflationary basket," he expressed.
Lazo commented that many times the only solution to economic problems is to raise prices.
"There will be some that at a certain time will have to be done, and it will always be in consultation with the population, it will always be explained to the population, and it will always be done taking into account the most vulnerable population, and that no one will be left helpless," he pointed.
Later, he resumed the regime's old campaign of confronting the so-called "abusive and speculative" prices, especially in food, and called for "solidarity" and touching the hearts of the people.
"If there is a problem of inflation and the country has to buy things at a higher price, it is logical that there are high prices, but we must make a difference between high prices and abusive prices. We have to combat the abusive ones and fight for prices fair," he said.
"We have to try to get it into people's hearts that there are more humble people. And we live in a country where when you go to sell a sweet potato for 80 pesos, and your son goes to university, they don't charge you. You have to have aware of that, and you have to do something so that the university professor, who earns little, can also buy," he stressed.
On Tuesday, Lazo spoke harshly to the deputies of the agri-food commission, from whom he demanded fewer programs, measures, studies and diagnoses, and more results: an increase in production and more food for the people.
On a day where the failure of the Food Sovereignty Law, approved a little over a year ago, was confirmed, the official recalled that the country does not have money to import food and that practically 100 percent of the family basket is being imported.
It referred to years before the pandemic, when the production of rice, beans, pork and milk was visibly higher.
"Just six years ago we produced 400 thousand tons of rice here in Cuba, almost 50 percent of the basket. In 2017 we produced 200 thousand tons of pork in 2017; 600 million liters of milk... Now all of that is resting on imports,The country does not have money to import and today the situation is serious....that the basket doesn't arrive or arrives broken in half," he said.
"We are already very tired of programs, measures, studies, diagnoses... and where is the reality? Where is the solution to the problem?" he questioned.
This week, President Miguel Díaz-Canel recognized that the importation of food to Cuba is increasingly complex and blamed the situation on the increase in prices in the international market.
"Freight prices have gone up, food prices have gone up, it is costing us more work to acquire the food in the basket in time, andwe have a basket assembled on the basis of import", said.
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