After an economically distressing 2022, Cuba has reasons for growth

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 27 (ACN) By these final days of 2022 and until the first weeks of 2023, three basic or primary sectors of the Cuban economy, such as tourism, agriculture and energy, are each going through a decisive stage for their transformation, development or the necessary take-off, as part of the gradual recovery of the Cuban economy.

The tourism industry is facing its peak season preceded by promotional actions in search of new markets, while in the rows or fields the cold season is being decided with the sowing of the largest volumes of crops, at the same time that a good part of the thermoelectric plants begin to give "signs of life" and little by little the energy crisis reflected in annoying blackouts and interruptions of the economic activity is disappearing.

But the damages or setbacks in such decisive sectors hit -as the rest- by the tightened U.S. blockade, the lack of foreign currency and fuel, the increase in international prices of goods and services, the impact of the COVID-19 and the internal insufficiencies themselves, had an impact on the Gross Domestic Product to grow by 2% in 2022.

The population, the families, felt the effects of these and many other problems, and more acutely those related to food and medicine shortages, inflation, lack of public transportation, to name a few, all of which had a worrying impact on demographic changes, movements or trends.
 Aware of the complex and difficult socioeconomic situation, the country's leadership is constantly looking for alternatives or solutions, without forgetting the millions of dollars in material losses caused by a hurricane as intense as Ian, or the damages -also in the human order- caused by the accident at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana and the fire at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas.

How hard 2022 was for Cuba was talked about -and discussed- with force and sense of urgency weeks ago, first at the 5th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and, days later, at the 10th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People's Power, of its 9th Legislature.

In such meetings, Alejandro Gil, deputy prime minister and head of economy and planning, informed that we did not reach the projected levels (4%) of growth, but we are not going backwards either. The measures do not achieve all the results, but we are advancing in solutions, while we are already in a better situation in the control of COVID-19.

The main obstacle that prevents the Cuban economy from advancing with greater speed and dynamism is the impossibility of reaching the expected income from exports, which has a chain relationship with the development of sectors such as agriculture, he said.
 Besides mentioning among the factors that threaten the availability of foreign currency the non-fulfillment of the goal of 2.5 million tourists (it is expected to close the year with 1.7 million), he clarified that arrivals depend on the behavior of international markets, which was influenced by the conflict in Europe.

The Cuban president called for concentrating efforts on achieving a macroeconomic stabilization plan, in addition to strengthening local development and taking advantage of the powers granted to the entrepreneurial system, with the aim of increasing productions that depend more on national resources.

In turn, by 2023 the country must overcome or make progress in reducing inflation -one of the causes of which is the shortage of goods and services-, the fiscal deficit and social inequalities with differentiated attention to vulnerable people and trying to get many of them out of this situation.
 The reactivation of productive activities and an increase in foreign exchange earnings from exports should lead to a 3% GDP growth in the new year.

The conditions exist for 2023 to be better and for us to be able to complete our recovery, which is supported, for example, by the control of the COVID-19 and the positive results of the recent international tours of the country's leadership and the Havana International Fair, which showed the growing interest of foreign businessmen to invest in Cuba despite the criminal U.S. blockade.