The leader Miguel Díaz-Canel stated yesterday in a meeting with self-employed individuals, representatives of state-owned enterprises, and non-agricultural cooperativists from across the country that "the revolution will not hand over the non-state sector to the enemy."
"The non-state sector is ours," he said after committing to continue developing private initiatives, albeit with conditions.
The successor of Raúl Castro defined the type of private activity that the Communist Party of Cuba will tolerate on the island as only that which serves as a "complement to the state economy," according to the newspaper Granma.
In this way, he made it clear that Cuban communists have no intention of following the example of developed economies, where the bulk of the business sector is in the hands of small and medium-sized private companies.
Cuba, immersed in the worst economic crisis of the last 20 years, will not follow that path because it would separate the "people from the government," Díaz-Canel candidly acknowledged during a meeting with a strong "ideological and political" undertone.
On the eve of the inauguration of the eighth congress of the Cuban communists, Díaz-Canel also spoke about an "enemy" who, in his opinion, "never rests in trying to fracture the relationship between the state sector of the economy and the non-state sector," emphasizing without clarifying whether this enemy is external, internal, or academic.
It would be, in any case, an enemy that "seeks to undermine the state sector, disregard the government, and financially support, as well as use other forms of influence on, the non-state sector of the economy, separating it from its contribution to the socialist development project," he clarified to once again underscore that Cuban entrepreneurs who do not align with the ideas of the PCC are not welcome.
Evidence of this is that the announcement regarding the privatization of the management of state cafeterias and restaurants does not require economic guarantees from those applying for this bid. This has led economists like Elías Amor to raise concerns about the discretion with which these contracts will be distributed among candidates who are or may appear to be supporters of the Communist Party.
This situation would also explain why, of the 10.4 million hectares of land in Cuba, only 3.1 million are cultivated. This represents a third, mostly managed by private cooperatives.
For his part, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz reiterated once again that self-employment has created 600,000 jobs (a figure from before the COVID-19 pandemic) in the country and how in recent years the perception of it among the population has improved. Although he did not mention it, he was referring to the high productivity and better wages compared to the results of state-owned enterprises.
In addition, the Prime Minister emphasized that tax collection from the private sector in Cuba is the main source of revenue in many municipalities on the Island. This positive aspect contrasts with the negative side, depicted by Marrero Cruz as "not a few extraordinary events, particularly associated with violations of established regulations."
Finally, he put forth the intention to gradually extend the experience of the Non-Agricultural Cooperatives, which he refers to as a "new form of management," that will make headway in both the state and private sectors. The goal, he stated, is to achieve "a prosperous and sustainable society," something that the PCC has not been able to accomplish in the last 62 years.
Two dismissed ministers and beef sales
Díaz Canel and Marrero Cruz made these statements in the same week that two ministers were dismissed: the Minister of Agriculture, Gustavo Rodríguez Rollero, and the Minister of the FAR, Leopoldo Cintra Frías.
This week, the Cuban government has also approved 63 economic measures, of which 30 are to be implemented immediately, to boost food production in the country.
None of these initiatives alter state ownership of the land. They amount to reductions in the prices of electricity, water, aviation, and animal feed, as well as a reduction of between 2% and 5% in the taxes paid on personal income. In other words, the farmer saves a maximum of 5 out of every 100 pesos that he has to pay to the state.
In this supposed opening line, there is also the possibility for farmers to apply for bank loans or independently arrange for electricity without having to be affiliated with a cooperative.
The most striking announcement has undoubtedly been that farmers will be allowed to sell their surplus milk, cheese, and beef, after fulfilling the delivery of 80% of their production to the Government, which pays for these products at prices below market value.
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