This Tuesday, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez assured “we are convinced that we will always win, even in the worst of situations; we have the capacity and we are going to do it”.
In a meeting from the Palace of the Revolution with governors from all over the country, Díaz-Canel analyzed the difficult economic situation that Cuba is going through due to the tightening of the United States blockade and a global crisis caused by more than two years of Covid-19.
The president referred to inflation, shortages, production problems and the work that is costing shipping companies to put in time the resources that have been contracted and paid. In addition to what is affecting the entire world after the pandemic, there is also the electricity situation in Cuba and the effects of the intense rains of recent weeks, which were beneficial for certain crops and for reservoirs, but have caused damage to homes and vials.
Regarding this last matter, it was warned that in the next few days heavy rains are expected again for the west and center of the nation, which could cause flooding due to the saturation of the soil.
In an exchange with the highest government authorities of all the provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, Díaz-Canel stressed the need to address problems in depth, with great sensitivity towards the problems of the population, with intelligence, putting thought into everything, and without discouragement.
The situation is further complicated by a bad response from a public official or the incompetence of an institution, the bad treatment of an official or an institution in the face of a problem of the population, of a single person, or of a family, he reflected.
We have to be aware of any dissatisfaction of the population to immediately address, explain, argue and, where possible, resolve. “We always have to win with the truth,” Díaz-Canel emphasized, who later reiterated that the leaders must be at the base, linked to the fundamental programs and the population.
Particularly regarding electrical energy deficits, he said that “the blackouts are going to continue in the coming days”, as has been explained previously due to breakages in the plants, a fuel deficit for distributed generation and the maintenance that is being carried out to enter the summer in a better situation.
"The precision with which we report the programming of these blackouts and the speed with which we are able to warn of any unforeseen situation that occurs is important, so that people have the ability to maneuver and reorder their lives."
In the meeting, which was also attended by the president of the National Assembly of People's Power, Esteban Lazo Hernández, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, deputy prime ministers and holders of various portfolios, the president indicated that meetings with the sectors of Cuban society.
“We have to summon the people and the workers to make and to find solutions; the best solutions are found in moments of crisis, in complex moments, when we talk to people, when we invite them to give ideas and when we give them the opportunity to participate. We have to systematically debate these problems, from the Party's militancy to the population, using all the participation mechanisms, all the mass organizations, all the organizations of our civil society”, he specified.
Díaz-Canel was emphatic: in the midst of the situation that the country is experiencing, "apathetic behavior in any leader cannot be allowed or tolerated." We must make the most of all the things that we have been approving in recent times to seek greater impulses in the national economy.
The Cuban President also referred to the profound damage caused by the US fence policy. “We can assure our people that what this whole situation causes us most today is the tightening of the blockade, which remains permanent, remains untouchable.”
Everyone may be certain, he affirmed, that intense work is being done to overcome all these adversities. "These effects are not caused by negligence, or carelessness, or because there is an intention to disturb or not address each problem."
On the contrary, he added, there are people who are dedicated full time, looking for any opportunity through which a solution can be found or any of the complex situations that we have can be mitigated. Here there are workers who are working excessive hours, with excessive intensity, in difficult conditions, such as electrical workers, to guarantee maintenance and that breakdowns generate the least impact.
Díaz-Canel also highlighted "the people who are transporting the little fuel we have so that it reaches the places as quickly as possible, those who are in the middle of the floods harvesting food, those who are working on the effects that have occurred in the roads and in the houses due to the intense rains, those who are attending from foreign trade all the maneuvers that we can do and all the businesses that we can establish so that the supplies arrive in the shortest possible time.
Our daily life is difficult, acknowledged the President, it takes place in a complex global context, in a world that is living in crisis, with a war of such magnitude, that we still cannot know how far it will go, and for us there is a tightened lockdown.
However, among all, he asserted, we are working. Between all of us with that work, with that effort and with that creative resistance we can get ahead. Among all we need to save, among all we have to support each other, and solidarity must prevail.
“In the midst of such an adverse situation, it would be irresponsible to say that the results are going to come suddenly, but what we are sure of is that the results, even if they are slow, are going to come because a lot of work is being done,” confirmed Prime Minister Secretary.
In this meeting — which is held every month with the governors via videoconference — issues such as the housing program were addressed; food production; the process of computerization of families in vulnerable situations; the recreation program during the summer; the recovery of the damages of the intense rains; and the behavior of covid-19, which continues to decline in Cuba, with zero lethality in the month of June and for four consecutive weeks.
• In video, meeting of the president with the governors of the country:
