By Alejandra Garcia on October 17, 2023
Arleen Rodriguez interviewing Cuban President Diaz- Canel
Cuba is going through complex times, like the rest of the world. The pandemic and its aftermath, which still impacts the island and most of the countries on the planet; inflation, the shortage and increase of food prices in the international market are some of the challenges faced by humanity in recent times, a reality that Cuba is no stranger to.
However, “there are challenges unique to the island. We live in conditions atypical to the rest of the world,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Monday during a television appearance on Mesa Rodunda with Arleen Rodriguez Derivet.
In a friendly, close interview, Diaz-Canel spoke to frankly to the people of Cuba. For an hour and a half, he referred to the hostile international policies against Cuba, which sought to create a fracture between the Cuban people and the Cuban government and promote discrediting campaigns to demoralize the Revolution. He also talked about the recent natural disasters and accidents, which have directly affected ordinary Cubans and have deteriorated their quality of life, and the multi-causal economic crisis the country is going through.
“We live in a turbulent time, where the world has just come out of a pandemic that caused the loss of so many lives. We thought that after COVID, this would be a world with more solidarity, cooperation, and peace but, instead, it is a world embroiled in wars, where unilateral coercive measures grow to asphyxiate those who think differently and where walls continue to be built instead of bridges. This world is increasingly unequal, as the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer,” the president commented.
Many Cubans agree that Díaz-Canel has not been lucky, that all sorts of problems have hit him: a devastating tornado in Havana, an aviation accident, the pandemic, the tightening of the blockade, the accident at the Saratoga Hotel, the fire at the Supertanker base in Matanzas, and hurricanes and devastating cyclones.
“It is not a matter of having good luck or bad luck, which could be associated with misfortunes or adversities. The problem is how you prepare yourself to face adversities and complex situations. My energy comes from the commitment and the will to face the problems and to give an answer that leads us, as a country and as a people, to a better situation than the one we are living. That is why I make the most of every minute of my work,” he assured.
Some skeptics say it is not bad luck but mismanagement and that the monetary order -when the dual currency was eliminated in 2021- and the bank reform measure – that encourages electronic payment methods- were planned at the wrong time.
“They have the right to criticize us. Besides, I believe there is no perfect work, and it would be very naïve to believe that everything has been done well, that everything is perfect, and that we are right about everything. However, it is impossible to find the perfect time in circumstances as difficult as these. What is the perfect time, and what is the perfect measure?,” he assured.
Before 2019, Cuba lived in better conditions and economic slackness. But everything changed with the arrival of President Donald Trump (2019-2021) to the White House. His administration applied 243 measures that tightened the blockade, included us in a spurious list of countries that allegedly support terrorism, and closed consular services in Havana. Then Joe Biden arrived and decided to maintain the same hostile measures.
“That completely cut off all other forms of financing we could have, and there is a huge financial and energy persecution. Our main sources of income were affected: remittances, tourism, and exports. We no longer had financing to repair our power plants, buy oil, food, raw materials, and inputs needed by a group of factories that provide goods and services to the population,” Díaz-Canel listed.
Cuba and the government had two alternatives: to surrender, or to fight the battle. The first one meant applying shock formulas and neoliberal policies.The second one meant prioritizing human life and then working to move the country forward, and that’s the one we applied.
“The measures implemented were urgent, and without them, the cash deficit would have been higher, and inflation would have affected the country just as much,” he stressed.
Amid the crisis, the country does not stand still. Social programs designed by Fidel Castro in another moment of the Revolution are being developed and maintained, gender violence and racial discrimination are being fought against, and the most vulnerable are being protected. No one has been left unprotected.
Where does the president find the energy to get up and battle? “In the people, in these heroic people. The Revolution is invincible thanks to all of you,” he concluded.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English