Cuba names four new ministers
The quest for economic and food sovereignty, tied to scientific development
The Cuban Council of State approved the proposal of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to name four new ministers to head the ministries of: Economy and Planning; the Central Bank of Cuba; Food Industry; and Science, Technology, and Environment. The four ministries play a central role in the planning and management of the economy. The changes come at a time in which the economy is experiencing insufficient production and high inflation; caused principally by the intensification of the U.S. blockade, the decline in tourism due to the pandemic, and recent errors in state planning and direction of the economy.
The naming of four new ministers was announced in Granma (the daily newspaper that is the Official Organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba) and in Cubadebate (a digital publication managed by prominent Cuban journalists). Granma and Cubadebate are the most reliable sources for news about Cuba.
The Council of State is the body that represents the National Assembly of People’s Power between the sessions of the National Assembly. It is composed of the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of the National Assembly plus other members that are decided upon by the Assembly. No member of the Council of Ministers can be included in the Council of State, in accordance with the separation of powers and the establishment by the Constitution of the legislative power as the highest authority. At the present time, the Council of State includes eighteen other members, including the heads of the Federation of Cuban Women and the Federation of Workers of Cuba. The laws, decrees, and agreements of the Council of State must be ratified by the National Assembly at its next session. The Council of State is responsible before the National Assembly of People’s Power, to which it must explain its activities. The deputies of the National Assembly of People’s Power are elected directly by the people to five-year terms.
The Granma report noted that the decision was approved previously by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. Such prior approval by the Party is not required. Although the Constitution in Article Five names the Party as the leading force of the Revolution, it confers decision-making authority on the National Assembly of People’s Power. However, in noting that the decision was previously approved by the Party, the report is signaling that the decision has the support of the major political actors.
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The problems in the Cuban economy were explained by the government to the National Assembly at its regular session of December 20-22, 2023, which was covered live on Cuban television. The problems include insufficient foreign currency, which limits the capacity to import petroleum, fertilizers, equipment and supplies necessary for national agricultural and light industrial production; a state budget deficit, provoked by the continuation of state subsidies for necessary food and retail goods combined with a decline in state income; and monetary instability, in which the official exchange rate for the Cuban peso is much higher than its value in the informal market, provoking the sale of many retail goods in the informal market beyond the reach of regulation by the banking system, which leads to the selling of goods far above their actual value. The government reiterated that the principal causes of these problems were the intensification of the U.S. blockade and the decline in income from foreign tourists.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, in his report to the December 2023 session of the National Assembly, declared that errors had been made by the government, contributing to the economic difficulties. He noted that the 2020 Resolution 115—which involved the decentralization of the rate of exchange, giving private and mixed companies the autonomy to set the currency exchange rate in international transactions—was intended to lead to increased exportation, to the diversification of the economy, and to greater foreign investment. But Resolution 115 has not had these effects, and instead, it has generated distortions, such as high prices and the incapacity of state institutions to regulate the economy. The Prime Minister identified other errors as well, including the lack of implementation of economic policies adopted by the government and approved by the National Assembly, deficiencies in the control of agricultural land through contracts between the state and productive non-state entities, and inadequate management of the tax system. He declared that “we need a stronger Ministry of Economy and Planification.”
See my previous commentary, “People’s Democracy in Cuba: Rectifying errors in economic policy,” December 23, 2023.
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The new Minister of Economy and Planning is Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, sixty years of age, the current President of the Central Bank of Cuba. He has a university degree in Finance and Credit and a master’s degree in Business Management. He has ample experience in management responsibilities in several institutions in the Cuban banking and financial system. He replaces Alejandro Gil Fernández.
The new President of the Central Bank of Cuba is Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, fifty-seven years of age. She has a university degree in International Economic Relations. She has held various positions in the National Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Planning, and she has worked as a consultant in the National Assembly’s Permanent Commission on Implementation and Development.
The new Minister of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) is Dr. Eduardo Martínez Díaz, fifty-six years of age, currently president of the group BioCubaFarma as well as a deputy in the National Assembly of People’s Power. Previously, he was vice-president of BioCubaFarma, after serving as director of Scientific Policy of the commercial group. Prior to his service in BioCubaFarma, he was a researcher, department head, and technological development director at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. He was the principal investigator in the development of a Cuban vaccine that protects against five infirmities, including diphtheria and Hepatitis B. During the pandemic, he played a leading role in the successful development of a Cuban COVID-19 vaccine, for which he and twelve other scientists were granted the award of “Work Hero of the Republic of Cuba.” Martínez Díaz replaces Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya, who served as Minister of CITMA for more than eleven years.
The new Minister of Food Industry is Alberto López Díaz, fifty-six years of age, replacing Manuel Santiago Sobrino Martínez. López Díaz is the current governor of the province of Villa Clara as well as a deputy in the National Assembly of People’s Power. He has a degree in education and began his career as a professor and department head at the polytechnical institute of the province, before assuming various responsibilities in the municipal and provincial governments.
The announcement recognized the effort and the dedication of those who were relieved of their responsibilities. It noted that all will be assigned to new missions in the next days.
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CITMA plays an important role in the economy, because of the historic and deepening commitment of the Revolution to integrate the production of goods with new developments in science and technology. My colleague Juan Azaharas, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Havana, maintains that Martínez Díaz is an excellent choice who will be able to effectively lead CITMA. Martínez speaks with authority before the scientific community and the people, Azaharas noted, because of his successful leadership of the BioCubaFarma group and his important role in the development of the COVID vaccine. In contrast, Azaharas observed, former Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil, an engineer by profession, lacked authority among economists, and he therefore was unable to form a consensus of support among economists; nor was he able, in the face of growing economic difficulties, to attain the consensual backing of the people, even though he explained well to the people the economic problems and the government’s policies.
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