The never-ending story: Cuban government insists on rescuing sugarcane planting and food production

The pound of sugar was sold for 500 pesos due to the shortage of this basic product, widely consumed in all households on the island.

Salvador Valdés Mesa (al centro) en plenario © X/@GAzcuba
Salvador Valdés Mesa (in the center) at the plenary.Photo © X/@GAzcuba

The Cuban regime continues to be immersed in its vicious circle and renewed the call to reactivate sugar cane cultivation and food production in the entities of the sugar mills, with the same slogan of making use of the fertile lands of the island.

According to the official newspaper Granma, Salvador Valdés Mesa, Vice President of the Republic and member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba, emphasized at the III Conference of the National Union of Sugar Workers (SNTA) the need to promote the upcoming sugar harvest with "responsibility and rationality," despite resource limitations.

During his intervention, Valdés Mesa acknowledged that the agricultural sector needs substantial investments to improve yields, but he highlighted some positive experiences in cooperatives and agricultural production units, although these are still in the minority.

In addition, he criticized that some of these organizations do not guarantee food for their own workers, which he considers unacceptable in a key sector for the national economy.

The vice president also emphasized that sugar workers cannot depend solely on sugarcane planting, which lasts about three to four months, but must find productive alternatives during the rest of the year.

Additionally, he reiterated the importance of the political-ideological work of the workers, especially in times of economic difficulties caused, according to Valdés Mesa, largely by the U.S. blockade; a detail that could not be omitted in his speech.

As expected - it couldn't (can't) be different - those present approved every idea, even though they know they are giving their "yes" for the umpteenth time and it has been proven that there is an inability to fulfill the proposals.

It is worth remembering that the 2022-2023 harvest, with its 350,000 tons of sugar, became the worst crop since 1898, when, during the War of Independence, the sugar mills of Cuba produced 300,000 tons.

The data confirms the brutal regression of a sector that once positioned Cuba among the world's leading sugar exporters. Of the 455,198 tons that the Cuban regime intended to produce, only 77 percent of what was planned was achieved.

The final story is that the people and its citizens are the ones who pay the consequences. The pound of sugar reached a market price of 500 pesos due to the shortage of this basic product, widely consumed in all households on the island.

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