Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel referred to the worrying inflation and high prices that are hitting the island’s economy and acknowledged that it was the issue “most raised by the population” during the campaign prior to the elections on March 26.
In a meeting of the Minister council This Friday, the president said that during those meetings in various areas of the country “very dramatic things were said” that cannot be allowed because “the Revolution was not made for that,” he said.
✍️/The high price of products and services that is manifested in #Cuba It was one of the most debated issues during the meeting of the Council of Ministers, where a set of actions aimed at regulating and confronting abusive prices was presented.https://t.co/CCn3S3xHYg
— Presidency Cuba ?? (@PresidenciaCuba) March 31, 2023
For her part, the Minister of Finance and Pricing, Meisi Bolaños, spoke about price violations, present both in high-impact products and in social consumption. The infractions have been able to detect the same in state and private entities.
He admitted that the inspection actions during 2022 were insufficient. From now on, he said, “it is intended to monitor more the effect of the negotiations and avoid the existence of intermediaries.”
Make the salary have greater purchasing power
For Díaz-Canel, the true solution to the escalation of prices is to produce more and the measures proposed by the government are on the way: “to produce more, have more offers of goods and services, and ensure that wages have greater purchasing power ”, he narrowed.
However, it is necessary to confront “against those who abuse, against those who speculate and against the illegals.” To achieve this purpose, it will have to be done “at the municipal level and in each community” with consistency, arguments and “with the support of the people,” he encouraged.
Díaz-Canel considered that to the same extent that they act “the population will have more confidence” and will say where the places where speculation is taking place are and who does it.
“We are servants of the people and we work for the people,” he pointed out when distrust grows among the population due to the measures applied after the call Sorting Task, which included the abolition of the CUC, the establishment of a new official exchange rate and wage, price and pension reforms.
Macroeconomic stabilization in Cuba: the task is big and the margins are narrow
“We have inflation that we are not going to solve with these measures alone, but we can put an end to abuse, with speculation, with the taking advantage of the situation by a group of people who act without conscience, without commitment to the population , disdaining the effort that is made ”, he asserted.
Various specialists point out that the contraction in the supply and the amount of money in circulation cause the appearance of speculative prices that have nothing to do with the cost records for the generation of goods or with the expenses associated with their commercialization. Meanwhile, prices continue to grow and the country is experiencing an unparalleled crisis.
