Diaz-Canel Begins a National Tour to Defend the Measures that Terrify Cubans

14ymedio, Madrid, 12 January 2024 —A little more than 10 kilometers from the place from which thousands of Cubans flee the Island in boats and precarious vessels and where 14 months ago seven rafters died after being attacked by the Border Guard Troops, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel began this Thursday by failing to tell the truth in his  first tour of the Island  in 2024. The president stated in Bahía Honda, Artemisa, that the government measures to “invigorate the economy” “have been announced and none have been applied.”

The president thus ignored the fact that on January 1 some of them came into force, the (yes, expected) salary increases for Education and Health personnel, and the tax increases, which put an end to tax exemptions on imports of consumer products by private companies, although they are maintained for raw materials.

Díaz-Canel may claim that he was referring to the increases in the price of supplies and some basic services – electricity, gas, transportation and fuels – which are the ones that have most agitated the population, but in that case he was not right either. “Nothing has changed. The other thing is that each measure will be applied when the conditions are created,” he specified.

Unless the Government reverses its announcements, these increases already have a designated schedule to go into effect

Unless the Government reverses its announcements, these increases already have a designted schedule to go into effect. On February 1, the new fuel prices come into force, which represent increases of around 500%, while increases in the prices of electricity, gas and transport  will do so from March 1, as reported on television by the ministers of each area, who allegedly spoke to clarify doubts for the population.

But their boss’s words call into question whether the desired clarity has been achieved. “There is a lot of talk with the economic measures, and I know that this is creating a lot of uncertainty; and above all the counterrevolution is greatly detracting from the measures,” he added, while he was the one who sowed doubt about so