Madrid/The Cuban military has not missed the magnificent business opportunity that has opened up with the huge number of Spanish nationality files initiated in Cuba. Given the shortage of hands at the Spanish Embassy to process the avalanche of applications, the Palco group, belonging to the Gaesa conglomerate, has imposed on Madrid the hiring of local personnel worth 1,131,295 euros.
The information was revealed this Wednesday by the Argentina-based media Infobaewhich states have had access to the contractallegedly signed this January. A source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation told the newspaper that the Government of Spain was given no other option if it wanted to have manpower. on site.
“The Consulate General of Havana requires substantial reinforcement due to the large number of files to be managed by the Democratic Memory Law and the rest of the consular procedures,” said a ministry worker. In the contract it is expressly indicated – it states Infobae– that the consulate “will only be able to enjoy the workforce services of any Cuban citizen and foreigner permanently residing in the country, once the employment relationship of the personnel who will provide the service with the Palco Group has been previously established.”
The agreement is valid for four years and specifies that there must be 87 office assistants
The agreement is valid for four years and specifies that there must be 87 office assistants. The salaries that Palco would offer would be 3,630 to 3,706 Cuban pesos (about 154 dollars at the state exchange rate of 24 to 1, although only 7.5 in the informal foreign exchange market), but the Foreign Affairs contract apparently stipulates between 205 and 210 euros per month per employee and includes extras for working on a holiday. Palco is, of course, the one who selects the personnel and who keeps the difference, according to the same rules that the Cuban regime applies to doctors in international missions and for local personnel recruited by diplomatic missions on the Island or workers of foreign companies.
The Palco Group, a division of Gaesa founded 45 years ago, initially had as its mission the organization of fairs and events, although it has currently diversified its work through ten subsidiaries that include all types of sectors, from IT and floristry to customs and construction. It is also the largest state real estate agency and human resources mediator for foreign companies and institutions, as in this case.
In Cuba, more than 600,000 People have formally submitted an application and made an appointment at the Havana Embassy to become nationalized through an additional provision of the Democratic Memory Law, approved at the end of 2022 and whose deadline closed last October.
To help with the avalanche, which has caused chaos at the consular headquarters for months, the Government of Spain tried to apply some solutions that included the installation of mobile offices in different parts of the Island, although the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic MemoryÁngel Víctor Torres, stated that it had not been possible. He did not give details, but it was interpreted from his words that the shortage of vehicles and, above all, fuel, complicated the deployment.
The Palco Group, a division of Gaesa founded 45 years ago, initially had as its mission the organization of fairs and events
Alarmed by the situation, the General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad (Cgcee) warned that it could take years for many Cubans to obtain citizenship because staff are scarce for the demand and asked the Government for urgent intervention to permanently increase staff, as well as services and consular headquarters, some of them in great need of reform and rehabilitation works.
In December, the president of the Cgcee, Violeta Alonso, met with the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to present proposals in order to “strengthen consular resources and speed up the processing of LMD files.” The problem is long-term, defended Alonso, since the increase in Spaniards will permanently demand more attention.
Days later, the opening was confirmed – without a specific date – of a new consular headquarters in Camagüey, a project announced years ago and that the pandemic had frozen.
