The Cuban regime announced a major transformation of the social assistance system that will gradually end widespread subsidies and concentrate aid on individuals and families with the greatest economic needs.
The measure is part of the package of 176 economic and social transformations presented this Thursday by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly of People's Power, convened to discuss reforms that the Government itself deems necessary in light of the severe economic crisis the country is facing.
The proposals are part of the extensive economic reform program approved by Cuban authorities, which includes everything from the opening up to private banking to increased participation of foreign capital and the easing of market mechanisms. The package of 176 measures was introduced by the regime as a strategy to tackle the worst economic crisis the island has faced in decades.
Among the initiatives included in the so-called Axis 8 of Social Transformations is the creation of a digital system to identify and monitor vulnerable individuals through the SOBERANÍA platform. This will enable real-time updates on families with economic needs and facilitate the tracking of the assistance they receive.
The plan also includes the participation of state, private, and foreign companies in community support programs as part of their social responsibility. Among the proposed actions are support for nursing homes, orphanages, social dining rooms, health institutions, and educational centers, as well as the creation of discounts, grants, and solidarity slots for vulnerable individuals.
The Government also proposes to promote employment and training programs for individuals in vulnerable situations, as well as to provide them with small-scale assets to engage in economic activities and improve their incomes. Additionally, tax benefits are anticipated for workshops that employ people with disabilities, along with differentiated rates for childcare centers and semi-boarding schools based on each family's income.
One of the most significant changes for the population is outlined in Axis 9, which focuses on the transformation of subsidies. The government proposes to gradually eliminate generalized support for products and services, replacing it with subsidies aimed directly at vulnerable individuals.
According to the proposal presented by Marrero, the process would begin with sectors considered transversal to the economy, including fuels, electricity, cargo and passenger transport, and water services, whose prices would gradually reflect real costs. Subsequently, the scheme would expand to other subsidized products.
As a prerequisite for implementing these changes, the government plans to create a Social Protection Fund, partly funded by the resources obtained from the elimination of subsidies. The stated objective is to compensate the most vulnerable sectors against the potential impact of the reforms.
The measures come just a day after Miguel Díaz-Canel announced that the basic basket will no longer have a universal character and will be limited to retirees, families with chronically ill children, and individuals in vulnerable situations, a decision that marks a historic shift in the state food distribution system. In that appearance, the leader confirmed that the supply booklet will be reserved for sectors deemed vulnerable.
The change represents the consolidation of a social protection strategy aimed at vulnerable groups, through which the State intends to concentrate its resources on specific segments of the population instead of maintaining universal subsidies for all citizens.
According to the information presented to Parliament, the new scheme will combine financial assistance, direct subsidies, discounts on services, and support programs for individuals identified as vulnerable by local authorities and social registration systems.
The social reform is part of a much broader economic transformation, with which the regime is trying to rescue an economy affected by inflation, blackouts, shortages, and a decline in production. Additionally, the authorities are also proposing reforms in the banking system, foreign investment, agriculture, commerce, and currency policy.
Although the official discourse maintains that the reforms aim to preserve the socialist system, numerous economists believe that they represent one of the most significant attempts at economic restructuring undertaken by the regime since the Special Period, in a context characterized by the decline in living conditions and the massive exodus of Cubans.
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