Few hours are left for the end of 2022, "a difficult year like few others, and an instructive one like all," as it was recently described by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic.
As explained by the president himself, Cuba is living in a difficult context with the impact of the 243 measures implemented by the Trump administration to tighten the economic blockade against the country. Moreover, the country has to dealt with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unforeseen consequences of the unpostponable Restructuring Task; the multidimensional global crisis aggravated by the conflict in Ukraine; the instability of the National Electric System and the impact of dramatic events such as the explosion at the Saratoga Hotel.
In addition, the large-scale fire at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas and the devastation left by Hurricane Ian, together with the accumulation of social problems caused by shortages, inflation and effects on the quality of life of the population and the growth of undesirable manifestations, criminal behavior, illegalities, corruption and social indiscipline and discontent, discomfort, misunderstandings and uncertainty.
Given this panorama, our country faces numerous challenges to continue on the road to recovery in a gradual manner in the following months, since the measures adopted to solve the nation's problems are not of immediate effect, and require the convergence of several factors and the effort and unity of all.
Under the guidance of the Communist Party, political vanguard of the nation, and of Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Revolution, and with the leadership of the First Secretary of the Party, Cuba embarks on that long-awaited road to recovery, critically recognizing the mistakes, identifying the challenges and proposing solutions.
The following is a summary of the main ideas on the political, economic and social challenges in the country presented by the Cuban Head of State during the Fourth and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the Central Committee of the Party held in the year 2022:
Strive for aprosperity ranging from food to recreation, including scientific development, superior spiritual wealth, welfare and empowering the design of the functional and the beautiful.
To expand the spaces of participation in which the concerns of our people and their proposals are heard, of the neighbors in the neighborhood, of the workers, of the youth; also that of the artists, the creators, the journalists and professionals of science, and through that participation to achieve greater popular control.
The Party has to grow in all places, spheres and scenarios.
To develop actions to revitalize the functioning of the mass organizations.
Fulfill the tasks that have been agreed upon for the work of the Party in terms of research, teaching and dissemination of the history of Cuba and Marxism, and the National Program for the study, research and dissemination of the thought and the life and work of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.
Accountability, which is often wrongly presented as separate from participation and control, should encompass all social processes in the country and contribute to real popular control.
To address more regularly issues such as values, changes in society, the growth of the non-state sector, the penetration of political-ideological subversion, continuity, the real and effective role of militancy and grassroots party organizations.
To promote social communication as a pillar in the work of the Party and the Government, and from there promote the contents, arguments and participation in social networks.
To support all processes with science and innovation, developing the capacity to resort to science and research to solve and address our main problems.
To promote an economic response, fundamentally, from national production, which includes the understanding of a market with different actors, but regulated by the State; strategic and financial planning, and less administrative and bureaucratic; the necessary balance between political, ideological, economic and administrative mechanisms, and now focused on agile and effective measures that oxygenate the economy and the solution of the problems of the population, especially focused on the supply of food and medicines, transportation problems, price issues and the stability of the National Electro-energetic System.
In food production, to comply with the 63 measures approved to boost agricultural production.
To promote territorial development and local development.
To strengthen the measures approved to save the sugar industry.
To improve domestic trade, eliminating obsolete practices and moving towards new forms, in which there is an important participation of electronic commerce.
To encourage foreign investment and that of Cubans abroad.
To develop public policies centered on situations of vulnerability and the elimination of inequalities, and also orienting ourselves towards public policies to attend differentiatedly to a group of problems of our youth.
To seek ways to supply stores in national currency and improve offers from national production, taking into account foreign trade channels.
To restraint excessive revenues in state institutions and entities that are not subject to greater production or efficiency.
To reduce the size of the state apparatus.
To reduce expenditures and direct them to the attention of vulnerable situations.
To promote an increasing number of municipal companies, so that local productive systems and, therefore, territorial and local development programs are strengthened.
To reduce the number of "big-headed" companies, in order to reduce excessive expenses in administration and bureaucracy.
To eliminate the corporate and ministerial bureaucracy that threatens companies.
To take advantage of state autonomy, which has been given to the enterprises, to increase production, productivity and efficiency.
In agriculture, under the current conditions, to promote agroecology, which is a way of rational agriculture with good yields and, in addition, totally sustainable and environmentally friendly.
To take advantage of all the conditions that have been created for interfaces between the University and the productive system of goods and services.
To continue promoting the idea of export poles, the closed cycle, the circular economy, and to seek with all this a maximum offer of goods and services to the population, diversifying productions, contributing to territorial and local development and asking ourselves why the inefficiency, why the inertia, why the business stagnation.
To seek greater efficiency in importing and exporting entities, the proper role to be played by contracts, the use of the powers granted, social responsibility, the processes of innovation, automation and computerization.
The Party cannot be apart of society. Many of its shortcomings are in turn a reflection of the social being. The Party has to be the most efficient catalyst in our future transformation.
Translated by ESTI
