Marrero Cruz denies that there is a crusade against private businesses: "We are not here to shut them down."

The Prime Minister of Cuba, Manuel Marrero Cruz, denied that there is a crusade against private businesses and urged non-state actors to think less about their profits and contribute to society.

Facing the members of the National Assembly, Marrero Cruz made it clear that the regime does not plan to eliminate private businesses: "We are not here to shut them down," he said, according to a fragment broadcast on the state-run Canal Caribe.

The former Minister of Tourism stated, "What we want to ask all individuals who open a business is that they contribute to society, which is part of this community."

And he added in his message to those who seek (yearn) to undertake: Let that service be provided at non-abusive prices. It cannot be that I only think about myself, my income, and that we do not think about sharing.

Similar ideas were conveyed by the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel, who this week announced a plan of "reorganization" for the private and state sectors, due to the "irresponsible way" some of these institutions are being managed, he pointed out.

Díaz-Canel insisted that this is not a witch hunt against a specific form of management or ownership, but the official discourse has been attacking Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for some months now, especially those that import finished products or do not comply with price caps.

In fact, the Council of Ministers approved six decree-laws, which they will present to the Council of State, where they update the legal provisions for MSMEs, self-employed workers, and private sector companies.

"Unlike what the enemies of the Revolution say, this is not a crusade against micro, small, and medium enterprises or against non-state management. These are policies approved in the Congress of the Communist Party," Marrero Cruz said about the new decrees.

However, the reality is completely different, the regime implemented price caps on six basic high-demand products through a resolution published in the Official Gazette of Cuba, and imposes fines of up to 8,000 pesos for those who do not comply with the order.

It is enough to say the following: the Ministry of Finance and Prices imposed 4,332 fines on private businesses violating prices between the 12th and 13th of July, for an amount exceeding 13 million pesos, as reported by the official newspaper Granma.

Authorities and inspectors from the aforementioned entity carried out 11,891 inspections to verify compliance with retail prices.

In that line, Vladimir Regueiro Ale, head of the sector, stated that the inspections covered the entire country: The detection of violations was at 41.7%, with a total of 4,954, although 4,332 fines were imposed, totaling over 13 million pesos, he explained.

In addition to the imposed fines, 354 forced closures were applied – 187 in Havana –, 53 temporary withdrawals of establishment operation authorization, and 21 confiscations, mostly targeting those operating illegally, according to the cited news outlet.