At the conclusion of the 8th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (PPC) (April 16 – 19), Cuba’s government defined the economic priorities for the next five years.
The Update of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines for 2021-2026 document outlines the direction and operation for the new economy. It also contributes to the transformation of the model based on the Task Ordering (Tarea Ordenamiento).
Cuba’s economic priorities:
- Strengthen the management of economic players, especially state enterprise as the principal actor within the economy.
- Solve structural problems of the economy: develop the production of food–focusing on the agricultural sector, concentrate on the greater participation of renewable sources; increase exports and the substitution of imports, recover and develop tourism and promote direct foreign investment.
- Consolidate the implementation of the Ordering Task with the adjustments to achieve its goal, a greater use of financial instruments in the economy and achieve the goal of fundamental macroeconomic balances.
- Prioritize the development and use of science, technology and innovation in society, especially in the areas of production.
- Continue the development of social programs under the new economy to achieve improvements in consumption and standard of living; implement new programs and services aimed at vulnerable individuals and families, and continue with price adjustment policies relative to personal income and the cost of goods and services.
The economic priorities under development while the world faces a difficult international situation because of the pandemic are complex. The closure of the tourism industry, one of Cuba’s main income earning sectors, contributes to the task. An increase in the measures by the Trump administration, including the blocking of remittances and the inaction of the current US president have amassed a total $5,570,00,000 worth of damage between April 2019 to March 2020. This represents an increase of 28% over the previous year. There is much work to be done.
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David Urra is the chief marketing analyst at International Consulting & Representation Services/Cuba (IcarusCuba). He has produced market studies for a wide range of Latin American, European and U.S. clients exploring market entry possibilities in Cuba’s IT, tourism, ranching, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors.
