Lázaro Raúl González, CPI

PINAR DEL RÍO, July – Anecdotal evidence of partial or temporary closings of all kinds of industries and of reductions of hours in the working day and of forced retirements suggest this province may be headed to a situation of real economic paralysis.

The local press has reported very little. On Friday, July 7, the provincial weekly made a passing reference, posted in the last page, to an economic crisis expected for the last quarter of the year for the province and the country in general.

But already in July there are reports of factories working half a day, of shops of various kinds closing, even of a sawmill shutting down. The slowdown in economic activity is due primarily to the increase in the price of oil and the low price of sugar, Cuba’s currency in international markets, along with the continued periods of drought and the chronic inefficiency in the management of the economy.

For now, the furloughs and closings have been disguised as temporary summer vacations. What will happen after the summer is unpredictable.

Versión original en español

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