Political processes to accompany implementation the Government's Projections, Diaz-Canel affirms

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 29 (ACN) Several political processes will be developed during the coming months to accompany the implementation of the Government's projections to correct distortions and boost the economy, according to the first meeting of the Council of Ministers of this year.

Miguel Diaz-Canel, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and president of the country, indicated that the guiding thread that should mark all these political processes are the proposals of Army General Raul Castro Ruz in his speech for the 65th anniversary of the Revolution, based on his concepts on unity, the work of the cadres, ideological work, and how to face the problems of the economy.

The objective, the Presidency reported today on its website, is to advance with coherence in the implementation of economic measures, and to address the social, ideological and economic problems, with a comprehensive analysis.

Diaz-Canel said that these will be far-reaching processes, which begin with a discussion of the party militancy, covering all the administrative structures, and also the workers' and students' organizations, and the population in the communities, therefore the whole Cuban society will be involved in these debates.

The Head of State stressed that "we must keep our ears open, because there will be people who consider that such and such a measure can be applied in such and such a way, or who propose another one, and that will also give us, from the population, a baggage of ideas that can be turned into actions".

He pointed out that the measures are necessary and cannot be postponed, because they correct deep distortions and structural deviations that hinder the performance of the Cuban economy.

Here there are projections aimed at boosting exports and national production, also to save; some of them have a taxation nature, precisely with the purpose of boosting those national productions, to provoke savings or redistribute wealth, he pointed out.

The President stated that these are measures aimed at macroeconomic stabilization of the country, defending the social conquests, therefore, in addition to economic growth, they are seeking social development.

He assured that they are oriented to the people, who will benefit if the economy grows, if the country depends less on imports, exports more and increases the foreign currency it needs.

Diaz-Canel rejected the attempts of the enemies of the Revolution to present the Projections of the Cuban Government as a neoliberal package, in the style of other processes in the region and the world, where "every man for himself" prevails and everything is "scorched earth".

He recalled that the first measure applied was the additional payments to the Education and Health sectors, and commented: "What neoliberal package in the world begins by increasing the income of two sectors of society such as Health and Education? The neoliberal packages begin precisely by taking away the Budget and privatizing all of this.
It is a recognition of two sectors that have the most important functions in a society: guaranteeing life, health and education. And when they benefit, we are all benefiting, he said.

Furthermore, he added, these projections are giving light, because as we recover in the economy, reduce the budget deficit and have more income, pensions, minimum wage and income in other sectors will improve.

In his speech before the Council of Ministers, Diaz-Canel recalled that it has been established as a principle that the measures are applied when the conditions are created, when the differentiated treatments for those who may have more impact as a result of the application of the measure are studied, and that is how we are working.

The Government's projections, he summarized, will develop well to the extent that we are capable of implementing them and conducting them well, and this will have to be a process of constant feedback.

That is why this discussion process with the entire population is important, that is why it is crucial to continue providing appropriate information through all possible channels, starting with the institutional sites of the agencies, he said.

Diaz-Canel was emphatic in assuring that the Cuban Revolution, as in all its history, will not leave anyone unprotected.

That is the case of the new Children's Houses that are being created throughout the country with good infrastructure and services; of the program for the recovery of the Family Doctor's and Nurse's Offices; of the transformations in the neighborhoods; of the 32 social programs that are maintained in the midst of these difficult circumstances, which continue to provide solutions and attention to people who have a certain problem, he exemplified.

On the other hand, the Council of Ministers was informed about two other political processes to be promoted by the Communist Party of Cuba: to analyze and discuss the speeches delivered by Army General Raul Castro Ruz and First Secretary Miguel Diaz-Canel on the 65th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution; and also the document: "Basic concepts for the correction of deviations and negative tendencies in Cuban society".

According to Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, the interventions will be discussed in the grassroots organizations of the Party and the Young Communist League, as well as in the structures of the Government.

It is a process, he specified, that will contribute to reaffirm the need and strategic importance of unity, exemplarity and combativity in the revolutionary ranks.

Regarding the discussion of the document: "Basic Concepts...", he remarked that it is not new in Cuba: "It is taken up again in a complex socio-economic context, characterized by the tightening of the blockade, which imposes serious limitations to our development, added to our own inadequacies and distortions".

This has, he recalled, deep historical antecedents: the 3rd Congress of the PCC, which resulted in the Party Program and in the Process of rectification of errors and negative tendencies, then headed by the Commander in Chief.

Throughout these years of the Revolution, Fidel and Raul have been the authors of the need to change everything that must be changed, but also to correct or combat whatever threatens the survival of the Revolution. This must become a popular debate, said Morales Ojeda.

In this regard, the First Secretary warned that this is not a cold process, "what we are trying to do is to impregnate a systematic way of doing, that we are constantly analyzing what deviations there are in our sphere of action, in what concerns us, and how we are going to overcome them. We have to promote the identification of problems in each place and how we are going to face them".
We cannot wait to solve economic issues to address other issues that are affecting our society today. If we work on all these processes, we will advance ideologically, economically and socially, Diaz-Canel stated.