“I’m the one who does the shopping, and everything goes for food, soap, detergent, and mopping towels,” said Olga Campos, who receives money from her son every six months. “My husband’s pension is only 242 Cuban pesos ($12 USD), and that doesn’t go very far,” she adds.
Read MoreAs part of a government austerity plan, extra grain supplies, regularly distributed to consumers in the capital and eastern provinces since 2004, have been cancelled as of this month. An electricity saving plan is under way, and some investments and imports have been postponed.
Read MoreThe Cuban authorities have begun to reduce investments to “concentrate on the indispensable,” said Deputy Minister of Economy and Planning Julio Vázquez.
Read MoreThe buildings housing most of these bodegas, stores, and market vendor stands show fading paint and structural deterioration. They are dark and humid, some with severely damaged ceilings, causing workers to move products to warehouses at the first sign of rain.
Read MoreOn a daily basis and in primetime spots, Cuban television has begun featuring the consequences of the economic crisis that is shaking up the world. On the island itself, there has begun discreet talk about how the effects of that downturn is beginning to be felt in an increasingly noticeable way.
Read MoreThe French Sanofi Aventis Pharmaceutical Company established a commercial office in the Cuban capital with the aim of expanding its business in the island, begun some 20 years ago, announced Antoine Ortoli, the company’s intercontinental vice president.
Read MoreFor Cuba, where most of the products that it imports and exports pass through ports, improving the conditions of its bays is a necessity. Out of economic need, Cuban authorities undertook a program to reclaim that country’s most important commercial ports.
Read MoreErnesto Medina Villaveiran is the new president of the Central Bank of Cuba, announced the government on Thursday, replacing Ernesto Soberon, who held the key cabinet-level post for the last 15 years.
Read MoreCuban authorities ordered the dissolution in 90 days of the Cubalse Corporation, one of the island’s largest state companies. Founded in 1962, Cubalse is devoted to providing services to foreign firms and embassies and to the collection of hard currency through chains of stores, cafeterias, as well as car sales and apartment rentals, reported IPS citing the accredited press in the Caribbean country.
Read MoreCuba is not immune to the world economic crisis and the government has announced adjustments for coping, including a reduction in energy consumption and planning for an economy with less growth. The general population to conserve electricity, hinting that a failure to do so could lead to programmed cuts in service.
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