Cuba’s economy minister has been dismissed

Havana (EFE).- The Cuban government dismissed Economy Minister Alejandro Gil amid the application of the largest economic adjustment plan in decades so far, state television reported this Friday.

The dismissal of Gil, in office since 2018, comes two days after the executive postponed until further notice – and without any set date – a 400% increase in gasoline, another of the main measures of the package announced last December. What has been considered are reduction in subsidies, increase in transport rates and services like electricity, water and liquefied gas cylinders.

This also comes a day after the government postponed “until further notice” price increases of up to 400% for interprovincial bus tickets, 600% for railways and 468% for internal flights in the island.

The government’s Great Shock plan – criticized by independent experts – seeks to turn around the direction of the country’s economy, with GDP falling by 1% to 2% in 2023, a fiscal deficit estimated at 18.5% this year and tourism. Without accessing data before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economy Minister in times of crisis

The now former economy minister was in charge of the portfolio after the implementation of the Great Monetary Reform of 2021 – known on the island as the ordering function – which abolished the dual currency in Cuba. In recent weeks, the government itself has publicly acknowledged that it “has not met its objectives.”

Since then, the exchange rate between the Cuban peso (CUP) and the dollar – 24 CUP per greenback for legal entities and 120 CUP per dollar for individuals in the state market – skyrocketed on the black market until reaching 290 CUP per dollar this Friday. Went.