HAVANA.- This week, the cuban regime announced new prices for the sale of combustibletransportation and basic services, which will come into effect shortly and has caused discomfort in the population, as well as strong criticism from economic specialists, who warn of the impact that the measures will have on the pockets of the population.
The measure fell like a bucket of cold water for Cubans who live with extreme limitations.
The regime announced on Monday the new retail prices for fuel sales and on Tuesday on the Mesa Redonda television program the new rates for interprovincial transportas well as the new costs of gas and electricity.
In the case of fuels, the price increased by more than 500%, while that of services, such as gas and electricity, the increase was around 25%. In transportation it was around 180%.
“There is a group of measures that are aimed at collapsing the supply of goods and services within the country, the increase in prices is going to aggravate the current crisis, the scenario becomes even more terrible,” said sociologist Ángel Marcelo Rodríguez Pita.
Chain reaction
For her part, economist Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello explained that these measures will bring a chain reaction.
“This is going to influence everything, whoever has a MSME, who had a cart to make trips and supply the MSME, has to increase that to all their merchandise, and thus one thing will follow another, until “It is already unbearable to live in Cuba,” he said.
In the case of gasoline, The increase will take effect from February 1; those for gas and electricity, as well as transport, will be from March 1.
Yoel Espinosa Medrano, from the city of Santa Clara, expressed that “this is going to generate another even bigger crisis, because this price increase is going to go directly into the pocket of the needy, who is the one who has nothing to do with it, the price of gasoline is going to increase even more on the black market,” he predicted.
“When one thing increases everything around it increases and prices will continue to increase and if transportation cost you ‘x’ now it will cost you twice ‘x’,” estimated Eliecer Pérez, a 41-year-old jeweler.
In 2023, the Cuba’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted between 1% and 2%; and the inflation was 30% annuallywhich has annihilated the purchasing power of salaries, especially in the broad state sector that was already affected by the price increases of 2021 and 2022.
On Tuesday, the Minister of Finance and Prices, Vladimir Regueiro, reported that, for example, premium gasoline – the one used by a good part of the cars on the island – will go from costing 30 Cuban pesos to 156 Cuban pesos, five times more. Fuels of different types and diesel will have the same behavior.
Impact on pockets
Cuban economist Pedro Monreal warned that the increase in fuel prices will have a significant impact on the pockets of Cubans. “The inflation of the month of February in Cuba ‘promises’. There will be a 428% growth in the retail price of regular gasoline, with an impact on other prices and rates. Until now, fuel had not been a factor in increasing the consumer price index,” he said.
Adriano Castañeda, an independent communicator residing in the city of Sancti Spíritus, explained that in that territory the majority of intermunicipal transportation is in the hands of private companies and that the package brought terrible news for the majority of Cubans.
“It’s going to be from great consequences for the dying Cuban on foot, who is the one who suffers all the problems in Cuba,” he warned.
Source: EDITORIAL / With information from AP / martinoticias.com
