The unprecedented, sudden and passionate defense of capitalism by the Cuban officialdom has a new episode this Friday, in an extensive two-voice interview published in cubadebate on the role of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country’s economy.
In it, although they record the suspicions that citizens have towards these new economic “actors”, the specialists Ileana Díaz Fernández and Ricardo González Águila, presented as professors at the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, do not hesitate to defend them.
“The process of creating MSMEs has been positive for the country”, declares Díaz Fernández, who details that 19.6% are from manufacturing activities and 12% from food and beverage production -without specifying what the remaining 68% is dedicated to-, and that they use to 225,000 people.
When asked if these companies should be considered “as a risk for the Cuban socialist model,” the economist replied that “it is expected” that all forms of non-state management do not contribute more than 13.9% of the gross domestic product. (GDP) and that “in addition, the fundamental means of production cannot be private property”.
“Socialism is not at odds with the mixed economy, that is, the existence of different forms of property”
“Socialism is not at odds with the mixed economy, that is, the existence of different forms of property,” continues Díaz Fernández. “It is pertinent that, instead of marginalizing them, they are involved in the construction of socialism, articulation with state forms is encouraged.”
For his part, González Águila expanded: “Conceptually speaking, privatization is associated with the transfer of ownership of a public asset to private companies; or the outsourcing of the management of certain services offered by the State, for example, public health. As far as I understand, this was not what happened in Cuba. What has been happening in Cuba –and in my opinion correctly– has been the gradual overcoming of that conceptual paradigm that told us that social progress was only possible through the exclusive use of state companies. And, as a consequence of this paradigm shift, there was an opening to the private sector, which I would still describe as discreet today.”
What is truly important, he believes, “is the institutional capacity of a State (in this case the Cuban one) to lead, design and coordinate the development of a country where different actors, state and private, must inevitably integrate and cooperate.”
In this regard, the specialist puts China and Vietnam as “conceptual references”, two countries “with a vibrant private sector that has served to raise the quality of life of its population, and not to destroy its model of society.”
“As long as the fiscal deficit and other quasi-fiscal emission sources are maintained, inflation will not stop, whether there are SMEs or not”
Regarding the high prices of the private ones, which arouse so many complaints in the population, González Águila asserts that the MSMEs “are not responsible” for the “ongoing inflationary process”, but for another “underlying cause”: “As long as the fiscal deficit and other quasi-fiscal sources of issuance are maintained, inflation will not stop, there are SMEs or not”.
Díaz Fernández, who states that only 4.6% of private companies are in commerce, compared to 19% of state companies dedicated to the same, adds: “The less MSMEs are held and state companies do not produce, the demand is not satisfied, the competition is little and prices go up“.
Even Silvio Rodríguez has joined the defense of the private company. In the comments of your blog, second date, some days ago, responded forcefully still post published by Fidel Vascós González, which was entitled Rethinking socialism. Vascós recognized that since the fall of the Soviet Union, in Cuba “the process has not advanced sufficiently, nor has it been linear or fully conceived as it should have been” and called for an “autochthonous Cuban model of democratic market socialism” abandoning “the current model of highly centralized state socialism inherited from the USSR and the CMEA” (the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance created in 1949 and to which Cuba joined in 1972).
“The transition stage called socialism has so far not invented a mode of production superior to the capitalist one”
With much clearer words, the singer-songwriter added: “After a national socialist experience and having seen how many other ‘socialisms’ fared, the first thing that should be stated – because it is extremely important to speak clearly at this time about the world and our country – is that the transitional stage called socialism has so far not invented a higher than capitalist mode of production”.
Rodríguez explained that “all the socialisms that have survived and prosper have capitalist economies” and criticized: “I think that one of the big – very big – problems we have is that they try to conduct society as if they were conducting a party meeting.” .
“We are in the most difficult stage of the so-called revolutionary period, where there has been an erosion of trust and faith like never before. And, unfortunately, communication has not been able to live up to what a historical situation like this requires” , continued the musician, who lucidly asserted: “At this moment, projecting oneself from the superstructure without speaking very clearly and I sincerely believe that it would give the opposite result to what is necessary: a frankness and clarity that is as unobjectionable as life itself. This is how you begin to change a reality: seeing it, treating it and discussing it as it is, not as we would like it”.
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