HAVANA (AP) – Cuba’s government announced Friday that it will have to raise prices for fuel and electricity or cut rations of basic goods.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel He said these difficult measures were necessary in difficult times after the economy minister said Cuba’s economy has shrunk by 1-2 percent this year and inflation is hovering around 30 percent. Cuba’s main source of income, the tourism industry, is in trouble. in farm production.
“This is a matter of complex measures, as complex as these times are,” Díaz-Canel said. I strongly deny that this is an exclusion of social rights.” Market Basket” is something Cubans can get with government coupons.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz has said that economic problems require the government to raise the prices of gasoline, electricity and gas, or to reduce the amount of food and other necessities on the government’s ration book. Ta.
This statement was made at the closing ceremony of the Cuban National Assembly of Powers (effectively the Cuban Parliament).
of Cuba’s economic crisis It has already forced hundreds of thousands of people out of the country to reach the United States. Long lines at gas stations have gotten shorter in recent days, but news of potential price hikes could prompt people to fill up.
“Ever since they spoke (in Congress), I still haven’t been able to get gas,” said driver Alberto Corjo, 54, as he waited in a long line at a gas station in Havana.
State Enterprises Secretary Marcy Garcia said times are certainly tough.
“The situation is very difficult for people at all levels of society because wages are not keeping up and prices are rising,” Garcia said.
Tourist visitation remains at only 64% of 2019 levels before the coronavirus pandemic. Sugar production declined and the government had to import food.