Alejandro Gil Fernández is a Cuban leader who has served as Minister of Economy and Planning and Vice President of the Council of Ministers since July 21, 2018. On December 21, 2019, at the proposal of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, he was appointed by the National Assembly of People’s Power as the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba.
Gil Fernández was born in Cuba in 1960, and before his appointment, he was the right-hand man of Ricardo Cabrisa, his predecessor as Minister of Economy, who stepped down at the age of 81. Gil started as an official in the Ministry of Finance and Prices, where he eventually became the First Deputy Minister.
Gil has faced multiple criticisms for managing an economy on the brink of collapse, enduring one of its worst crises since 1991 when the Special Period was declared. In May 2020, he appeared on national television to ask Cubans, as a government spokesperson, for financial donations in pesos and CUC to fund food production, which ignited public outrage. Additionally, Gil has become the herald of the scarcity that has loomed over the island for more than a year during his regular appearances on the Informative Round Table, where he frequently informs the public about the state's inability to meet the demand for food and essential products.
