{"id":244789,"date":"2021-10-15T12:48:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T16:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=244789"},"modified":"2021-10-15T12:48:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T16:48:25","slug":"cuban-economy-to-close-2021-with-moderate-growth-according-to-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/economy\/cuban-economy\/cuban-economy-to-close-2021-with-moderate-growth-according-to-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban economy to close 2021 with \u201cmoderate\u201d growth, according to minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>Cuban economy<\/span><\/a> will close 2021 with \u201cmoderate\u201d growth, around 2%, according to the current forecasts of the island\u2019s government.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was reported this Thursday by Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil, who, however, acknowledged that it would be a lower growth than planned for the year \u2014 over 6% \u2014and that it is based on the drop of around 11% of the GDP in 2020. This, he said, would mean in practice \u201cgrowth on decrease,\u201d so that the country would still be far from the levels reached in 2019, before the arrival of the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a press conference, Gil pointed out that the new forecast coincides with the estimate of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) of 2.2% growth for the island at the end of the year, and commented that it marks the beginning of a \u201cgradual recovery,\u201d which should be maintained next year thanks to the control of the epidemiological scenario that has been achieved with the advance of vaccination.<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MEP_CUBA\/status\/1448684886190067722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1448684886190067722%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Feconomia-cubana-cerrara-2021-con-un-crecimiento-moderado-segun-ministro%2F<\/p>\n

The also deputy prime minister assured that the island is going through an \u201cexceptional situation,\u201d in which, along with the pandemic, the effects caused by the U.S. embargo also have an influence, a combination that has had a negative impact on the economy and, in particular, on the lack of liquidity and sectors such as electricity, agri-food and tourism.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he was \u201coptimistic\u201d that \u201clittle by little\u201d the country could recover the levels of production and supply, due to the gradual reopening of a group of services, flights and international tourism, and a set of \u201chigh impact\u201d measures taken by the government to \u201cdiversify the productive fabric,\u201d such as the expansion of self-employment, the <\/span>approval of MSMEs<\/span><\/a>, and the new regulations established for state-owned enterprises and agriculture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alejandro Gil affirmed that since January, when the monetary reorganization came into force, some 200,000 new jobs have been created on the island \u2014 of which 35% have been occupied by young people and about 3,000 correspond to new MSMEs \u2014 and that, despite the economic \u201ctensions,\u201d the basic food basket and a limited level of supply to the population have been guaranteed.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he admitted the existence of high inflation, higher than that foreseen as part of the so-called \u201c<\/span>Task of Reorganization<\/span><\/a>\u201d \u2014 and about which he said he did not yet have a specific data \u2014, whose confrontation is one of the \u201cfundamental tasks\u201d of the Cuban government today.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this regard, he pointed out that, beyond the anti-inflationary measures already applied and others that could be taken, the solution lies in increasing the supply \u2014 towards which, he said, the most recent measures have been directed \u2014 and that as long as this is not achieved, it will be \u201cvery difficult\u201d to establish an effective control of this phenomenon. In addition, he called for \u201csocial responsibility\u201d and the ethics of citizens and economic actors to contribute to the efforts of the authorities in this direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

La inflaci\u00f3n: una espada de Damocles<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n