• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 11 / 17 / 2010

---

14:11, November 16, 2010. The Cuban government said it is necessary to amend several laws and decrees before implementing a plan of updating the Socialist economic model, the official Granma daily reported on Monday.

The government summarized in a document a seminar in Havana attended by 532 Communist Party leaders on the national debates over "economic and social guidelines."

It also reveals a plan proposed by Cuban leader Raul Castro to reshape the economic model to overcome the economic trouble in Cuba.

During the 4-day meeting, Economy and Planning Minister Marino Murillo cited an example of agricultural cooperatives, which were allowed by the current law, but he noted the law did not recognize cooperatives in industrial or service sectors.

"There are things which do not work currently under state control formulas, and we should make proper laws for them," Murillo said.

Participants also discussed the way to unify the country's currencies.Cuba has two currencies: the Cuban convertible peso (CUC), equivalent to 1.08 U.S. dollars, and the national peso (CUP), valued only 1/24 of the CUC.

The Economy Ministry said restructuring of the economic model should proceed by abandoning the dual currency."The dual currency will be solved only by producing efficiently for the real economy," Murillo said.

On the liquidation of the state enterprises with repeated losses, he said, "It is not possible to keep a company with losses for 10 years and later the state had to cover the expenses."

"We are not reforming the economic model as some foreign media want to see," he stressed.Since taking office in 2007, Castro has repeatedly called for restructuring of the Cuban economy and better use of human and material resources to improve the economy affected by the global crisis and the U.S. embargo.

The new measures include relocation of half a million workers and the opening of small private business after 42 years of state control over the economy.

Source: Xinhua