The Cuban regime continues to bet on strengthening cooperativism as a central strategy to address the severe agricultural production crisis affecting the country.
This was reflected in the report from this Tuesday by the National Television News (NTV), which reported on an assembly held in the municipality of Alquízar, in the province of Artemisa, as part of the XIII Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP).
The meeting, where strategies to enhance productive efficiency in the agricultural sector were discussed, was presided over by Félix Duarte Ortega, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of ANAP, who emphasized the need to strengthen the internal organization of cooperatives to optimize their functioning and consolidate their role within the socialist economic model.
"We are going to arrive at the XIII Congress of the organization after several days of work in committees, analyzing how to continue strengthening cooperativism in the country, but also how to consolidate it as a pathway to achieving more socialism," affirmed Duarte Ortega.
Soaked to the core in indoctrination and the jargon specific to the socialist leadership, the ANAP meeting was focused on cadre policy, the training of management personnel, and the internal management of the boards of directors.
As part of the meeting's outcomes, members of the new municipal bureau were elected, along with the delegates who will attend the provincial assembly and the precandidates for the National Committee, who will play a key role in planning the XIII Congress of the ANAP.
Lastly, the importance of political-ideological work among rural communities was emphasized, and the need to promote the role of women within the agricultural sector was stressed.
Cooperativism and the regime's insistence on the socialist model
The Cuban regime's bet on cooperativism is not new. Since the 1960s, the state has promoted this model as a way to achieve food self-sufficiency, although the results have been questioned.
In recent years, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel has reaffirmed on multiple occasions that the reforms in the country must be framed within socialism and should not open up to more flexible market models. In 2022, Díaz-Canel insisted that any economic change must "respond to socialism".
In 2023, quoting Lenin, Díaz-Canel called for “patience” in the construction of socialism and defended the continuity of the model despite its flaws. He has also reiterated that the perfection of the socialist model is the only viable option, despite the widespread crisis.
Failures of cooperativism in Cuba
Over the years, various complaints from farmers have highlighted the shortcomings of state cooperativism on the island. In 2017, a cooperative member raised concerns about the loss of entire harvests due to the lack of state logistics for their marketing.
A year later, another producer reported that the State owed him more than 20,000 pesos and did not guarantee adequate payments for his products.
In 2020, Díaz-Canel acknowledged that Cuban socialism was still “imperfect and burdened with deficiencies”, although he continued to defend the system.
Félix Duarte Ortega and his role in the ANAP
Félix Duarte Ortega, who currently leads the ANAP, has held various positions within the Communist Party of Cuba and has been one of the most active voices in promoting cooperativism.
In 2024, Duarte was elected to join the Council of State of Cuba, solidifying his position at the top of the country's political power.
Socialist cooperativism remains one of the main strategies of the Cuban government to tackle the food crisis facing the island.
However, the results of the model continue to be questioned by farmers and economists who warn about the lack of real incentives, the scarcity of resources, and the bureaucratic hurdles that hinder the growth of the sector.
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