In Matanzas they are working with creativity and with their own awareness; there is here a peculiar way in the work of the Party and the Government, highlighted the First Secretary of the Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, at the end of his visit to the municipalities of Martí and Matanzas on Wednesday.
With the two of this day, nine municipalities have been visited in the province of Matanzas, and only four remain (the Zapata Swamp, Limonar, Los Arabos and Perico) to experience this style of work that goes to the core to learn about good and bad experiences, talk to workers’ collectives and the people, seek solutions and help the territories.
The president spoke about these concepts to the inhabitants of Martí, who were waiting for him after one o’clock in the afternoon, on the main street of the town, under the strong Cuban midday sun. There, microphone in hand and in the middle of the crowd, he explained that by April the Party leadership should have visited all the municipalities of the Island, and when that happens, the visits will begin again “that allow us to help, to know experiences, and to socialize them”.
Díaz-Canel highlighted how, in the midst of great difficulties, there are groups of workers and people who find solutions and are an inspiration for others. There is a lot of heroism in the Cuban people -he stressed-; that is why I am convinced that we can get out of this situation, there is a lot of potential that we must help to channel.
The Head of State referred to hard dissatisfactions with the very long blackouts, the high prices of products, transportation, water supply, the deterioration of roads, among others; mostly as a result of the unprecedented tightening of the blockade.
But we are not standing idle, he said to the residents of Martí, to whom he explained in detail the millionaire investment underway throughout the country for the installation of solar parks that will generate more than one thousand megawatts this year. Seven of them will be ready this month.
At the same time, he assured, social programs have not been stopped. And an example of this, he said, is this maternity home that we have come to visit, inaugurated last January.
Díaz-Canel toured the beautiful institution, where eight pregnant women from the district are cared for. He talked with the girls, and learned details of the medical care, and how cooperatives and other entities of the territory are in charge of feeding the pregnant women.
Infant and maternal mortality in Martí remains at zero.
Accompanied by the member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, Roberto Morales Ojeda, and by the highest authorities of the Party and the Government in the province and in the municipality, the Head of State then visited the Frank País grassroots business unit, dedicated to raising pigs and other small livestock.
After a process of recovery, the entity has been improving economic indicators that have allowed it to obtain profits and improve the income of its workers.
From some 300 breeders last year, they aspire to close this year with some 500. The President praised the use of pig manure to generate biogas.
TO GENERATE CLEAN ENERGY
A few meters from there, it is being built one of the four photovoltaic solar parks that will come into operation this year in Matanzas, and that will contribute, as a whole, a little more than 80 megawatts.
Díaz-Canel talked with its directors about the characteristics of this site in Martí, which began its civil construction in December and is about 40 days behind schedule.
According to them, this should be corrected and the delivery date (May) should be met, since all the resources are already in place, and some 15 brigades are working on the assembly of the tables. The critical route is in “trenching about 15 kilometers of cable”, they said.
IN THE CAPITAL CITY
Already in Matanzas, and the afternoon was falling over its beautiful bay, the Cuban President visited the 78th circumscription of the Peñas Altas popular council, which under the leadership of the delegate Randy Perdomo, has become a model of community work in the country.
Sharing his impressions about this place, in the final meeting of the day, the president said that “the concepts of popular power proposed by Fidel are demonstrated there”. There is another type of synergy, he said, people feel committed, with self-esteem for the place where they live, they make proposals, participate, and that generates unity.
With words of praise he also referred to the Faustino Pérez Hospital, directed by the young doctor Taymí Martínez. The Head of State was also there, and highlighted the order, the beauty, the good attention to the patients and the workers. He considered that there are few hospitals like this one in the country.
These two places, he commented in the concluding meeting of the day, are national referents in the field of health and community work. This does not mean, he clarified, that they do not have problems, but the level of response is different.
“These are the paths that need to be multiplied,” he said.

The recovery of the National Electric System is a top priority of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, due to the transversality of this activity in all sectors of the economy.
This was stated by the member of the Political Bureau of the Party and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, at the annual work meeting of the organism, held yesterday at the Plenary Hall of the Palace of the Revolution.
In the presence of the First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the Prime Minister insisted on the need to boost savings, since, despite the low availability of electricity, demand continues to be very high, with a tendency to increase.
He also stressed the need to advance in the use of renewable energy sources without neglecting other forms of generation.
Marrero Cruz referred to the negotiations to recapitalize and bring the country’s four refineries to their maximum exploitation point, as well as to increase the production of domestic crude oil for export and electricity generation.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE ELECTRICITY GENERATION SYSTEMS IN 2025?
Alfredo López Valdés, General Director of the Electric Union, explained that for this year the following is planned:
Conclude the assembly and commissioning of capacities to generate 1,200 megawatts (MW) in photovoltaic solar parks, with 200 MW of accumulation throughout the country.
Complete the maintenance of units 3 and 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric power plant (CTE) in Cienfuegos; unit 2 of the Ernesto Guevara CTE in Santa Cruz del Norte; and unit 5 of the Antonio Maceo CTE in Santiago de Cuba.
Secure financing and put into effect the contract for the recovery of unit 2 of CTE Lidio Ramón Pérez de Felton, in Holguín, affected by a major fire in 2022.
Ensure the financing and execution of capital maintenance at CTE Antonio Guiteras, in Matanzas.
Recover 850 MW of availability in distributed generation: 520 MW in diesel-based engines, and 330 MW in those running on fuel oil.
Progress in the construction of the Herradura I wind farm in Las Tunas, where 22 of the 33 generators planned have been installed, representing 33 MW.
RESULTS AND WORK PROJECTIONS
Argelio Jesús Abad Vigoa, First Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, while presenting the work results derived from the President of the Republic’s indications in the balance corresponding to 2023, specified that, out of the ten recommendations, four have been fulfilled and six are in process.
He pointed out that, as regards the installation of small photovoltaic systems, mainly for pumping water to supply water to the population and for irrigation, 804 of the 1,071 that have been imported have been installed.
He detailed that all the refined crude oil has been processed, although the processing levels of the industry have not yet been reached.
For his part, Vicente de la O Levy, head of Minem, summarized the main negative impacts of the sector in the previous year, marked by the fuel deficit, the withdrawal of five floating power plants, the shortage of liquefied petroleum gas, and the deterioration of the facilities for electricity generation.
He affirmed that many variables converge in the above, one of them is our own weakness, but the one that has the greatest impact is the intensified blockade imposed by the U.S. government.
DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL GOVERNMENT
Regarding the implementation and management of Digital Government strategies, executives stated that progress is being made in the creation of platforms and systems for the management of processes in the Top Management Business Organizations, as well as in the reinforcement of cybersecurity in critical entities.
Regarding the use of electronic payment channels for the commercialization of services, it was reported that more than three million customers regularly make their electricity payments through the EnZona and Transfermóvil gateways. In addition, last year, 76.1 % of the service billing was collected in this way.
The collection management for liquefied gas and manufactured gas services is also tending to increase through these channels.
This working meeting was also attended by the Deputy Prime Ministers, Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez and Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, as well as other ministers.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejects in the most categorical terms the so-called “Act not to recognize stolen trademarks in the United States” recently signed by the President of the United States, promoted by the anti-Cuban sectors in the U.S. Congress and consisting of a new unilateral coercive measure, which reinforces the blockade against the Cuban economy. It broadens the scope of section 211 of the Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1999, which, according to the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization, violates the international system for the protection of intellectual property.

This law deals a new blow to the international system of industrial property protection and confirms the contempt of the United States for the institutions of international law, in particular, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

The “Law for not recognizing stolen trademarks in the United States” provides a patent of corse that widens the way to consolidate the theft of Cuban trademarks legitimately registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The attitude of the U.S. government contrasts with that of the Cuban authorities, which have always acted in strict compliance with the international conventions on intellectual property to which Cuba and the United States are parties. Currently, 6,448 U.S. trademarks are registered and protected in Cuba.

Once again, the U.S. Government is giving space to the dark interests of the most aggressive anti-Cuban sectors, whose manipulation of the U.S. political system has become a practice. The same happened in 1996, when the infamous colonial Helms-Burton Act was passed, which some also called the Bacardi Act. With great participation in the drafting of the Helms-Burton Act and the so-called Section 211, Bacardi shares the responsibility for the suffering imposed on Cuba by those who do not accept the course of independence and sovereignty chosen by the Cuban people.

Havana, December 10, 2024

This Monday, the Official Gazette of the Republic, in its 78th regular edition, published six decree-laws, two decrees and 11 resolutions of different agencies related to the activity of non-state economic actors.
Lázara Mercedes López Acea, president of the National Institute of Non-State Economic Actors – an entity created by Decree 108 – expressed that these normative provisions are the result of a broad process that began in 2023, and provides for the updating of several laws in force since 2021 related to non-state economic actors.
She added that this update is part of the Government’s projections to correct distortions and revive the economy, and has been consulted with all agencies of the Central State Administration, territorial governments, municipal administrative councils and a representation of economic actors.
On the basis of all the opinions expressed – she said – the regulatory provisions have been updated to maintain the possibility of self-employment activities (TCP), the creation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), as well as non-agricultural cooperatives (CNA).
The norms provide for tax and accounting modifications for non-state actors, as well as to the normative provisions on the exercise of self-employment, as well as its contraventions; the activities not authorized for TCP, mipymes and CNA; the creation of the National Institute of Non-State Economic Actors; and updates to the bidding procedure, among others.