In April I posted, following an excellent piece by Martin Gurri, that 4% of the Cuban population had just survived. The Miami Herald now reports, based on official Cuban data, that 4% was a gross underestimate.
A staggering 10% of the Cuban population – more than a million people – will leave the island between 2022 and 2023, the head of the national statistics office said during a meeting of the National Assembly on Friday, the largest wave in the history of Cuba.
…It was a sad moment that capped off a week of National Assembly meetings where government officials shared details that exposed the extent of the economic crisis and the failure of current government policies aimed at increasing production, addressing widespread shortages, dealing with crumbling infrastructure and reducing inflation. .
Worst food production has fallen:
Alexis Rodríguez Pérez, a senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the country produced 15,200 tons of beef in the first six months of this year. As a comparison, Cuba produced 172,300 tons of beef in 2022, already down 40% from 289,100 in 1989.
Pig production was even worse. The country produced barely 3,800 tonnes in the first six months of this year, compared to 149,000 tonnes in all of 2018. Almost all other sectors reported losses and failed production targets.
And yet
…Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero has announced several new restrictions on the island’s private sector (!!!)
Raul Castro is 93 years old. I bet his death or something similar will signal a new revolution. Is the US ready for an open Cuba?
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