Cuban economy lives “day to day” and is preparing for more US sanctions, says Díaz-Canel

The Cuban economy In 2024, it went through one of the worst years in the last five yearsPresident Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged on Friday, who also said that his government plans more sanctions from the next US president Donald Trump.

“We practically live day to day. There are many complaints from the people, due to the delay or fragmentation of the regulated family basket (the supply booklet given to each Cuban), the distribution of milk, bread, liquefied gas or medicines, basic and essential products. Díaz-Canel commented at the closing of the plenary sessions of the Assembly of People’s Power, the Parliament.

Unlike previous years, during the session the authorities did not report the behavior of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for this year after 2023 fell 1.9%.

“The year that is ending should be registered as one of the most difficult for Cuba due to the effects accumulated in the last five years due to the already indicated intensification of the blockade (of the United States) and the unacceptable false and ill-intentioned inclusion of the country in a list of those who supposedly support terrorists,” said Díaz-Canel.

This year, national power cuts, scheduled blackouts and lack of water were added to the shortage of food and fuel, as well as the occurrence of natural disasters such as the devastating passage of two cyclones and earthquakes.

During the previous parliamentary sessions, the Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O, reported that the availability in the national energy system reached the lowest levels since 2019 and the head of the strategic Tourism sector, Juan Carlos García, indicated that the island received barely 2.2 million travelers in 2024 of the three million expected.

For his part, the Minister of Economy, Joaquín Alonso, stated that exports of goods only reached 92.5% of what was expected and those of services barely grew thanks to health agreements with other countries. As for imports, they were restricted to 82.4% and were focused on food and medicine.

During 2024, steel production was zero, cement reached only 43.2% of what was expected, and wood production remained at 17.6%, Alonso explained.

The Cuban crisis began in 2020 due to the combination of the stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a package of failed internal reforms and the increase in United States sanctions..

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero pointed out that of 651 products in the island’s basic medication list, in the last month 461 were missing.

Díaz-Canel called for a march on Friday in front of the United States embassy in the capital in rejection of the sanctions.

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