14ymedio, Havana, 7 July 2024 — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged this Saturday, at the end of the VIII plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, that it is necessary to guarantee better access to food in the midst of the “complex” situation on the island. He indicated that “food production and self-sufficiency are tasks of the first order in which the entire population must participate,” according to a report on state television about the meeting where the results achieved in food production and the implementation of the Law on Food Sovereignty and Food and Nutrition Security were analyzed.
“There can never be an irrigation machine without a planting program, and the Party is also responsible for ensuring that every good experience becomes widespread. We are in better conditions, but there is still much to do,” said the Secretary of Organization, Roberto Morales Ojeda.
“The causes that have an adverse impact on food production have been identified and proposals have been made to find solutions that will allow us to transform the problems and move forward in the current scenario,” said the head of the Agri-Food Department, José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz.
Raúl Castro did not participate in the meeting where the results achieved in food production were analyzed
The Communist Party meeting took place in the Plenary Hall of the Palace of the Revolution in Havana behind closed doors without any appearances before the media and also served to analyze the economic situation of the country, mired in a serious crisis for four years. Raúl Castro did not participate in the meeting that took place a few days before the session of the National Assembly.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel called for “fighting for a healthy and efficient economy that guarantees social justice and the highest possible level of well-being for the population.” “The people demand results, and we owe it to the people,” he said. In March, the president stated in a meeting with officials from the Ministry of the Food Industry that Cuban families spend “more than 70%” of their income on buying food. This rate reflects, among other elements, the sharp rise in the price of food in recent years in Cuba, due to the fall in national production and the depreciation of the national currency in the informal market.
According to the United Nations, Cuba imports 80% of what it consumes. The government has also indicated that it spends more than 2 billion euros a year to import from abroad the products that are included in the ration book, which are heavily subsidized.
Food production and the fight against corruption were the main topics of the agenda of the 8th plenary session held half a year after the announcement of the first major adjustment plan – which included 400% increases in fuel prices and increases in public services such as water and electricity – and shortly before the presentation of the second major package, which includes budget cuts.
The pandemic, the tightening of US sanctions, and failed economic and monetary policies have aggravated the structural problems of the Cuban economy over the past four years. The crisis is reflected in the streets in shortages of basic goods (food, medicine, and fuel), prolonged daily power outages, rampant inflation, lack of cash, and increasing dollarization. The subsequent social discontent has been evident in some protests – among them those of 11 July 2021, known as ’11J’ – and an unprecedented wave of migration.
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