In a recent interview with Russia Today, Cuba’s minister of the economy and planning Alejandro Gil refuted statements by enemies of the Cuban Revolution that the government is freezing the relatively new non-state economic sector.

He explained that what has happened is a normal process in which new measures are explored and adopted initially. Later, based on how things evolve, and their direct or indirect impact on the country’s economy and the lives of the people, some of those measures are reversed completely while others undergo changes, always putting the well-being of the people above any other consideration.

“I think that what has happened with some measures, which were initially adopted but later had to be rescinded or changed, is nothing out of the ordinary. You make decisions, adopt measures and then, once implemented, you correct mistakes along the way. Some of those measures did not yield the expected results, and actually generated more problems than solutions. This is a relatively new economic sector, we’re trying new things, some work, others don’t. That’s normal,” he said.

The top Cuban economy official stressed that the main focus should be on the accomplishments, not the failure.

“We have a non-state sector, which is getting stronger. It covers much more than just the private sector, there is also the agricultural cooperatives and the non-agricultural cooperatives in several sectors. I repeat, it is a normal process in which we design and try new things based on our own reality, and then in the implementation phase, we realize that we need to make changes based on the results.”

The overall goal, Alejandro Gil stressed, is for the non-state sector to complement the state sector, working hand-in-hand toward the country’s development and improving people’s wellbeing and living standards.

Minister Gil emphasized that the non-state sector is very important and has a role to play in Cuba’s development strategy.

“We consider the non-state sector as a very important economic actor. It has a role to play in the country’s development. There is absolutely no strategy to freeze it or hamper its development. What we have to do is find a way for all economic actors to operate under equal conditions. The truth is that today the non-state and the state sectors operate under very different financial terms. Although affected by the same restrictions imposed by the US blockade and the current international scenario, the non-state sector operates in a far more flexible environment than the state sector. When we compare efficiency, some say that the non-state sector excels in providing some services or producing specific goods. They even say that we should leave those economic activities entirely in the hands of workers of the non-state sector. We say that we should first make sure that both the state and non-state sectors operate under equal conditions, and then assess efficiency.”