Cuba announces new measures for ‘war-time economy’ amid growing crisis

HAVANA — Cuba`s government said it would double down on price controls and continue to fight tax evasion in an increasingly desperate bid to tamp down on a ballooning fiscal deficit and spiraling inflation that have devastated its economy.

The measures will bring the 2024 budget and goals in line with what the government refers to as a “war-time economy,” according to a state-run media summary of a meeting of the Council of Ministers, the country`s top executive body.

“All of us are here to save the ( Cuban) Revolution and save socialism,” Diaz-Canel said in the meeting. Cuba`s economy has been decimated by a combination of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, stiffened U.S. sanctions and a state-dominated business model plagued by bureaucracy, mismanagement and corruption.

The social and economic crisis is widely seen as among the worst since Fidel Castro`s 1959 revolution, leading to a record-breaking exodus of Cuban migrants in the past two years. The announced measures – many long discussed and implemented in various forms by Cuba`s socialist government – aim to bolster foreign exchange, encourage food production and bring order to flailing state-run businesses, said Mildrey Granadillo de la Torre, First Deputy Minister of Economy and Planning.