Based on the behavior of the economy in recent quarters, many Cubans had already assumed that 2023 would close with a decrease in the Gross Domestic Product, and this was confirmed with the official statement that there would be a contraction of between 1 and 2 % at the end of the year.
As reported in the recent 2nd Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power by Alejandro Gil Fernandez, deputy prime minister and head of the ministry of economy and planning (MEP), due to the limitations in the availability of foreign currency and fuels, it is not possible to achieve the projected growth of 3% of the GDP at constant prices.
It has been a year in which the results of various measures and programs have not materialized for multiple reasons, starting with the US blockade and the inclusion of the Island in the list of States promoting terrorism, along with the rise in prices, international conflicts and internal deficiencies.
In what may have been the most difficult and complex year of the Revolution, all this and its impact on the insufficient acquisition of foreign currency, on macroeconomic imbalances, on the persistence of a large fiscal deficit and growing inflation, was reflected in the shortages of food, medicines and other goods and services for the population.
But it cannot be ignored how, with scarce financial resources, the State tried to guarantee the products of the standard family basket -whose annual cost exceeds 1,600 million dollars-, the generation of electricity, fuels and toiletries, among others.
Unfortunately, there were failures in national production, including agro-industrial production, particularly food production, which meant that the necessary levels were not reached to meet the demands of the population and the country.
According to the head
