On February 2, the “Cuban government suddenly fired its ministers of economy [Alejandro Gil] and food industry [Manuel Santiago Sobino Martinez]. . ., after days of angry public response to an austerity plan rolled out last month that, among other things, planned to hike the price of gas five-fold in the midst of the island’s most severe economic crisis in decades.”[1]
This development was announced in Granma, the Cuban Communist Party newspaper, with an unusual final sentence saying that the ”colleagues released from their respective positions were recognized for their effort and dedication in carrying out such high responsibilities, and in the coming days they will be assigned new missions.” The author of the Miami Herald article about this development thought that the last part of this sentence “suggest[s] the officials are not likely to land in similar high-profile jobs.”
The Granma article also stated that these actions were “at the proposal of the President of the Republic and prior approval of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the PCC.”
These “dismissals happened just a day after the government had to postpone a controversial gas price hike that was deeply unpopular, which was part of a larger austerity plan that Cuban officials said was aimed at “correcting distortions” and stabilizing the economy.
The Granma article also announced the two men’s replacements: (a) Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, current minister-president of the Central Bank of Cuba, as Minister of Economy and Planning and (b) Alberto López Díaz, 56 years old, current governor of the province of Villa Clara and deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power, as Minister of the Food Industry.
An article about this development in Diario de Cuba reported the following reactions to these decisions:[2] Alicia Garcia said, “”Excellent news, I have been waiting for it for a while. It was time for the Ministry of Economy to be headed by an economist and not an engineer in transportation exploitation.” Antonio Rojas added: “The most serious thing that the country faces is the economic issue due to the political consequences that derive from it. Will the nation have the possibility of compensating itself in an understandable and credible way? We, the people, think that a lot of time has been lost.”
More extensive comments were added by Cuban economist Mauricio de Miranda Parrondo, who said the following:
- “These types of events occur in any country, especially when things do not work well. However, if we go by this, the list of changes could be longer. For now I will only say one thing: the problem is not the ministers ‘The problem is the system.’
- “The problem is that we continue to appeal to a failed model. The problem is that entrepreneurship continues to be restricted, which is only allowed following rules that respond to a high level of discretion. The problem is that we need to support agricultural producers and those who venture into the industry, with development credits,”
- “The problem is that there is neither an agricultural policy, nor an industrial policy, nor an international insertion policy that produces structural changes that allow us to overcome the paralysis. Talking about development right now is almost a matter of science fiction.”
- “The problem is that the State is gigantic and ineffective. And also, authoritarian and despotic. The problem is that the policy of ‘cadres’ (to use that language that is so foreign to me) has been based on fundamentally promoting those who follow orders and follow the pre-established script, and not those who think for themselves and question.”
- “The problem is that the State is gigantic and ineffective. And also, authoritarian and despotic. The problem is that the policy of ‘cadres’ (to use that language that is so foreign to me) has been based on fundamentally promoting those who follow orders and follow the pre-established script, and not those who think for themselves and question.”
- “What is going to happen when the economy does not grow sufficiently? What is going to happen when the already very deteriorated standard of living of the population is not recovered? What is going to happen when macroeconomic stabilization is not achieved, which will not be achieved with the announced measures?What will happen when the ordinary Cuban’s table continues to be a table of hunger? What will happen when going to work continues to be an odyssey because there is no transportation?”
- “What will happen when the electricity cuts continue? What will happen when it is not possible to reverse the reality that the income from work of the vast majority of Cubans continues without guaranteeing decent living conditions? What is going to happen when we cannot overcome the boredom of so many people whose lives are diluted in sacrifice after sacrifice without seeing results?What is going to happen to our elderly? Once again, nothing? Rectify mistakes? Once again?”
- “I repeat, the problem is the system. It never worked well, but it is already exhausted, and not doing everything necessary to change it in a democratic way and with the active participation of the people will only bring more misery for Cubans, greater misfortune, greater emigration, greater desolation for our elderly, more and more unprotected every day. And it could lead to even more serious consequences. This is not only an economic problem, it is an essentially political problem.”
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[1] Torres, Cuba fires its ministers of economy and food industry amid prolonged economic crisis, Miami Herald (Feb. 2, 2024); Council of State approved cadre movements, Granma (Feb. 2, 2024).
[2] Cuban economists react to the dismissal of Alejandro Gil: ‘The Problem is the system,’ Diario de Cuba (Feb. 3, 2024). l