Former Economy Minister of Cuba reports loss of more than 4,000 million dollars in external income over five years.

The former Minister of Economy of Cuba (1995-2009), José Luis Rodríguez García, stated that the island has experienced a loss of more than 4 billion dollars in external income between 2019 and the first half of 2024, which has exacerbated the already fragile economic situation of the country.

The current researcher at the Center for Research on the World Economy (CIEM) published an analysis of Cuba's economic situation in the magazine El Economista, noting that the Cuban economy experienced a significant setback in 2023, with a GDP decline of -1.9%.

This decline is attributed to both external factors such as the U.S. economic embargo, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the volatility in global food and oil prices, as well as internal errors in the country's economic management.

It concludes that the normalization of the Cuban economy seems distant, with growth estimates barely reaching 2% in 2023 and an estimate of 3% for 2024.

It explains that the persistence of the embargo, along with the consequences of the pandemic and international challenges, such as the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East, continue to negatively impact Cuba, especially in key sectors such as tourism and nickel and sugar exports.

The economic crisis in Cuba has been addressed with different euphemisms over the years.

In April, the Council of Ministers and the Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz assured that "in the midst of the economic difficulties the country is facing," "it is true that the best production levels and performance cannot be achieved, but it is possible to make progress if we fully exploit collective intelligence."

They were talking about a possibility that, although they express otherwise, is a chimera in a scenario riddled with scarcity, discontent, and no imminent improvement.

Cuban economist Pedro Monreal dismantled several of the statements that emerged from that council, concluding that "the official information regarding the recent meeting of the Council of Ministers of Cuba confirms the worsening of the economic crisis, the lack of effective policies, the prevalence of rhetoric over realism, and an outdated view of the agricultural sector."