What we’re doing is giving more to the people and sharing more equally
• Fidel affirms during his special TV appearance yesterday Announces more good news for everyone next week Purchasing power of peso increases

BY MARIA JULIA MAYORAL —Granma daily staff writer—

FROM today, the purchasing power of the Cuban peso is to increase by 7%, thanks to new exchange rates for purchase and sales operations in the network of exchange outlets (CADECAS), affirmed President Fidel Castro yesterday during a special address at Havana’s International Conference Center.

The leader of the Revolution maintained that this step in the area of finance is highly satisfying given that it signifies the beginning of the long and upward path of the peso. It is the first time in history that the currency of a blockaded and Third World country has been able to set out on the road of systematic revaluation that will carry it forward in a consistent manner, as far as necessary, he confirmed.

Clarifying doubts expressed by citizens over the last few days, Fidel specified that there will be many changes before the end of the year with respect to the availability of electricity thanks to the incorporation of two combined-cycle units in Varadero, whose capacity is slightly higher than two plants like the Antonio Guiteras, and with the advantage of possessing more modern, efficient and economical technology.

He noted that the island also has generators with a total capacity of 200,000 to 300,000 kilowatts in order to guarantee the functioning of aqueducts, hospitals and other important installations in the case of a power deficit in the National Electricity System. He clarified that the intention is not to put that equipment into use except in the case of unforeseen breakdowns, when it could offer the necessary security so as not to damage essential services to the population.

In August, he confirmed, the Antillana de Acero will be producing steel rods 24 hours a day, while the quarries used for building materials will be working with greater intensity in order to fulfill the new plans for the construction and reparation of homes, likewise thanks to an increase in energy recovery.

The president of the Council of State and Ministers explained that many business, state and government teams are currently occupied with the issue of reinstating programs for the reparation and construction of homes as soon as possible.

"I will be bold enough to say," he affirmed, "that from the second semester of 2006 the generative capacity will be so large that there will not be the slightest risk, if the normal course of events is maintained, something that could be disturbed in the case of war – an imperialist aggression against Cuba – or if there was a US invasion of Venezuela, or an assassination attempt on Hugo Chávez, which could provoke very complicated situations; and nobody can guarantee today that incidents of this kind will not occur.

"In the case of Cuba," he reiterated, "we are well-prepared from a military point of view, and to be prepared in all areas is our duty and the rightful thing for us to do," he commented.

The president went on to say that there are no plans at present

to increase electricity prices, although the idea of introducing modifications in the future for large scale consumers, including citizens with workshops or other private businesses in their homes, who consume much more electricity in comparison with the average family, is being floated

The president of the Council of State and Ministers explained that the country spends $1 billion per year on the purchase of foodstuffs, and what is paid for those products in the bodegas (neighborhood stores where people buy rationed goods) is equal to less than one thirtieth of what the state invests.

He also noted that the provinces affected by the intense drought are still receiving tens of thousands of tons of additional food with respect to the basic quota delivered to the rest of the country. These regions, he explained, will also be the first to have access to new supplies of wheat and corn flour announced on March 8.

Likewise, top-speed efforts are underway to initiate distributions of pure coffee (not blended with peas) and chocolate with full powdered milk, which will be sold at reasonable prices. Both the coffee and the chocolate, he clarified, will arrive in sealed packages, and the sale of these goods will also begin in the eastern provinces from June.

Opinions raised by the population during March 8-15 include the need to prevent the theft and misdirection of the new appliances, as well as the pure coffee, the chocolate with full powdered milk and the other aforementioned foodstuffs, which will be sold in the bodegas. With respect to that, Fidel urged the mass organizations, UJC members, Armed Forces combatants and the Ministry of the Interior... in short, the revolutionaries of the barrios, to prevent potential racketeering and theft.

As he put it, the principles that should prevail during the process of distribution and sale should be imposed by the people, with due exigency, and without entering into complicity with individuals breaking the law.

All of the measures and results favor success; in two-and-a-half months, the country will have the necessary gaskets for the pressure cookers. The machines industry is charged with supplying them – as well as the pressure cookers, rice cookers and electric stoves – to the bodegas.

In Santa Clara, 70,050 rice cookers have been delivered, as have 44,300 in Cienfuegos, and in neither of those regions has electricity consumption gone up, which illustrates the benefits that both families and the national economy will obtain in that way, Fidel explained.

The president also remarked on the importance of improving attention to low-income sectors of the population, including retirees, persons who have worked their whole lives – some of whom now receive less than 100 pesos monthly – and he affirmed that the moment is not far off when the country will be able to implement wage increases, all of them subject to the people’s qualifications and contributions, in line with socialist principles.

More is being given to the people and it is being distributed better, Fidel summed up, announcing that he would be back next week to report more news.