Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (Miguel Diaz-Canel) admitted on Wednesday that his government is flawed in dealing with shortages and ignoring certain sectors, but he urged Cubans not to harbor hatred-this Refers to the violence during the recent street protests.
Until now, the Cuban government has only attributed the weekend protests to social media and the US government. This is the largest protest in Cuba since 25 years ago, when President Fidel Castro personally took to the streets to appease thousands of angry people. . After the collapse of the Soviet Union and its economic subsidies to the island, there was a severe shortage.
In a nightly speech on national television, Diaz-Canel criticized himself for the first time and admitted that the country’s failures played a role in protests against food shortages, price increases and other dissatisfaction.
“We must learn from the riots,” he said. “We must also critically analyze our problems in order to take action and overcome them, and avoid their duplication.”
During the protests, many Cubans expressed anger at long lines, food and medicine shortages, and repeated power outages. Some people demand faster coronavirus vaccination. But there are also calls for political change in a country that has been ruled by the Communist Party for about 60 years.
The police entered and arrested dozens of protesters, sometimes violently, and the government accused the protesters of looting and vandalizing shops. On Monday, smaller protests continued, and officials reported that at least one person had died. No incidents were reported on Wednesday.
Diaz-Canel said: “Our society is not a society that produces hatred. Those people act with hatred.” “The Cuban feel is united. These people have carried out these armed actions and deliberately sabotage… Cries of death…plan to attack public places, vandalize, rob, and throw stones.”
The authorities did not report the number of arrests, and Colonel Morima Bravit of the Ministry of the Interior only stated on Wednesday that they are mostly between 25 and 37 years old and will be charged for crimes such as disturbing public order, assault, contempt, robbery or vandalism .
As the coronavirus pandemic has paralyzed the Cuban economy (including the vital tourism industry), the inefficiency of the state-run economy, and the tightening of US sanctions on the island, Cuba is suffering its worst crisis in years. The administration of President Donald Trump implemented more than 200 measures on the island in four years.
Diaz-Canel said that this “complicated situation” is used by “those who do not really want the Cuban revolution to develop or to establish a civilized relationship with the United States.”
Shortly before the President’s speech, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero announced some measures, such as customs flexibility to bring home toiletries, food and medicines for Cuban citizens traveling abroad. These are the most difficult to find in Cuba. article.
Marrero also said that efforts are being made to improve the stability of the national power system. Officials will seek to improve the supply of medicines, many of which are produced on the island but must be imported.
At the same time, Minister of Economy Alejandro Gill announced that directors of state-owned enterprises will be allowed to determine wages beyond the regulations. He also said that in the next few weeks, long-term commitment rules will be formulated for the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises, which was an unimaginable step under the rule of the Communist government.
© 2021 Canadian Press
