The Cuban economist Mauricio de Miranda Parrondo issued a strong critique of the recent statements made by the ruling Miguel Díaz-Canel regarding the country's economic situation, arguing that Cuba's problem is not one of adjustments, but rather of model.
"The system cannot be perfected or updated. The system is the problem. It needs to be dismantled," De Miranda stated while commenting on the official proposal to combine central planning and the market.
The economist warned in a that: "All those who attempted to implement reforms where central planning and the market coexist have failed."
Regarding the announced new currency allocation system, he was categorical: “This is a new error in economic policy” and advocated for the creation of “a legal and transparent currency market with a single exchange rate.”
In his text, he asserts that the multiple current segments create "distortions, perverse incentives, and room for corruption."
De Miranda also questioned the supposed autonomy of companies and municipalities. "The state-owned enterprise must have administrative, financial, and commercial autonomy," but he warned that this implies eliminating ministerial subordination and allowing private entrepreneurship.
Regarding the municipalities, he stated that "development is not a sum of parts" and denounced a "progressive, systematic, and widespread impoverishment."
The economist also requested acknowledgment of poverty in Cuba, the elimination of the supply rationing system, and the admission that the country is “experiencing hunger.” In his view, without freedoms, genuine markets, and structural changes, official promises will continue to be mere empty rhetoric.
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