Cuban deputies begin the year with an intense agenda, which includes in the first half of the year the review of programs of great impact on the economic and social development of the nation.

By María Josefina Arce

Cuban deputies begin the year with an intense agenda, which includes in the first half of the year the review of programs of great impact on the economic and social development of the nation.

The plans of the energy, geological and mining sectors will focus on this occasion the control exercise, approved by the National Assembly of People's Power in its Eighth Session of its Ninth Legislature, held in December last year.

This mechanism is contemplated in the Constitution, proclaimed in April 2019. In its Chapter II, first section, Article 108, it establishes as one of its functions the high control over the organs of the state.

The deputies received extensive information on the work of the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the priorities of its management, who will visit the thermoelectric plants, as well as the works in progress to advance in the use of renewable energy sources.

This is an issue of great importance for Cuba, which aspires to transform its energy matrix, given its marked dependence on fossil fuels.

Since 2014, the largest of the Antilles approved a policy for the development of these energy sources until 2030, given their benefits in environmental and economic terms, in addition to the fact that it also offers energy independence.

Likewise, this gradual transformation to a clean generation provides security, taking into account the U.S. economic siege, because, as specialists say, neither the sun nor the air can be blocked.

This verification allows for a debate with managers and workers to learn about the progress made, the existing problems and to channel solutions. That is why they are seeking to involve teachers and even university students in this process, who can contribute novel alternatives.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel has constantly called for the involvement of research and higher education centers to seek viable solutions from science and technology, in view of the limitations imposed by the intensified U.S. blockade.

The deputies will also continue to pay attention to the neighborhoods, the scene of transformations to improve the living conditions of their inhabitants. This process had significant results in the year just concluded, with construction and rehabilitation of roads, hydraulic networks, schools and stores, among other facilities.

Close contact with the population to learn about their needs made it possible to coordinate actions to provide an adequate response.

This will also be a year of hard work for the representatives of the People's Power in its different instances, who owe it to the people, who elect them to represent them and channel their criteria, suggestions and concerns.