{"id":295433,"date":"2024-01-27T16:34:21","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T21:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=295433"},"modified":"2024-01-27T16:34:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T21:34:21","slug":"the-msme-myth-and-bread-with-croquettes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/the-msme-myth-and-bread-with-croquettes\/","title":{"rendered":"The MSME \u201cmyth\u201d and bread with croquettes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuban MSMEs have become a thermometer of the \u201csituation,\u201d a compass of the reform, a sensor of \u201copenness,\u201d a means for the introduction of ideologies not related to the Revolution and socialism, the main causes of the problems that Cuba faces, the main cause of the growing inequality of our society, a decisive factor in the possible growth dynamics of the economy, hope of openness for some, ideological concern for others, objective of intelligence and counterintelligence, priority and objective for different institutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

As almost always happens with everything that happens in Cuba, the extremes are overcrowded, sometimes far apart and other times so close to each other that they are barely distinguishable.<\/span><\/p>\n

What I would never have imagined is that, in addition, someone would call them a \u201c<\/span>myth<\/b><\/a>.\u201d And even less so that a <\/span>subcommittee of the Congress<\/b><\/a> of a country embroiled in conflicts on a global scale, dedicated a hearing to Cuban MSMEs in which they were impeached as agents \u2014 and apparently very dangerous \u2014 of the \u201cCastro dictatorship.\u201d And, on and on with the extremes! Around here on the island, there are those who consider them almost the same, but in reverse, as agents of external forces.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while MSMEs in Latin America struggle every day trying to get to the next day and try by all means to achieve visibility, ours, the \u201cmade in Cuba,\u201d are in the media every day, in those over there and in those here, and they are the object of concern there and here and even of the \u201canti-Cuban rant\u201d of a <\/span>U.S. congresswoman of Cuban origin<\/b><\/a> set on \u201cdemythologizing\u201d these MSMEs. According to her, they were surely created by the Cuban government to deceive the U.S. government and corrode its system. You could even make a thriller titled <\/span>The Cuban MSME Menace<\/span><\/i>. And, by the way, it would please both extremes.<\/span><\/p>\n

But let\u2019s turn once again to the data. MSMEs are part of what we call \u201cthe non-state sector of the economy.\u201d According to the Cuban Minister of Economy\u2019s own presentation before the National Assembly in December 2023, the non-state sector groups:<\/span><\/p>\n

9,652 MSMEs [<\/span>there are already more than 10,070<\/b><\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n

5,138 cooperatives<\/span><\/p>\n

106 joint ventures<\/span><\/p>\n

596,000 self-employed workers<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Statistical Yearbook of Cuba for the year 2022 contains the following data for that same year:<\/span><\/p>\n

Total employed persons \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 4,505,900<\/span><\/p>\n

In the state sector\u2026\u2026. \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026. 2 896 200<\/span><\/p>\n

In the non-state sector\u2026\u2026\u2026 1,609,700<\/span><\/p>\n

Of them:<\/span><\/p>\n

Agricultural cooperatives\u2026\u2026\u2026542,600<\/span><\/p>\n

Private\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..\u2026\u2026\u2026..\u2026.1,067,100<\/span><\/p>\n

Wow, that\u2019s a big \u201cmyth\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\n

Emprendedores cubanos a cubanoamericanos: \u201cNo somos un mito\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n