• by IPS Correspondents (havana)
• Monday, December 19, 1994
• Inter Press Service

HAVANA, Dic 19 (IPS) - The deterioration of Cuba's economy is coming to an end, largely because the country did not give up its socialist orientation, Vice-President Carlos Lage said Monday.

Addressing union leaders, Lage pointed out that modest growth had been registered in some sectors of the economy, while the deterioration had been halted in others.

He added that "only socialism enabled us to hold on at first, and (socialism) will now allow us to begin the second stage, by implementing irreversible measures."

The Cuban government began a series of economic reforms in July 1993, legalising the possession and use of foreign currency, dividing state land into self-governing cooperatives and authorising self employment in certain sectors.

Meanwhile, a financial recovery programme has increased the prices of non-essential products and of services such as water, telephone, electricity and sanitation. Some free services were eliminated, and an unprecedented tax system was introduced.

Lage said these measures "are fundamentally different from those of other countries, as they are designed to uphold the people's interests rather than serve individual interests. They were adopted with the knowledge and approval of the people."

The vice-president said that "what is best for each sector is what will be done, rather than imposing processes that could get out of the control of the socialist state."

He added that the financial plan did not resolve the country's fundamental problems, but rather "created conditions under which we can better address them."

Lage said the Cuban economy's primary problem is the lack of hard currency, "and to change this, we need higher production, more investment, greater export capacity and more efficiency."

Cuba's first free agricultural markets were opened on Oct. 1. Regulated by supply and demand, the markets are open to all agricultural products - except sugar - of which there are excesses after obligations to the state are met.

The farmer's markets were well received by the population, helping to relieve the island nation's chronic food shortages.

However, Lage warned that "we should not be fooled by the increased supply generated by the markets, although they have had a positive effect on the people's morale, and as a rule, the prices are lower than in the black market."

He said the food problem has not yet been resolved, as only increased production will eliminate the shortages.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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