Guantanamo Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Minister of Domestic Trade (MINCIN), met in Guantánamo to discuss the implementation of new projects in the sector, in line with the country’s ongoing economic and social transformations.
Accompanied by Alis Azahares Torreblanca, Governor of Guantánamo, the minister emphasized the importance of completing the decentralization process currently under way in the sector’s enterprises. The process seeks to streamline loss-making entities, grant greater autonomy to local communities, and provide support and assistance to the more than 121,000 workers employed in the sector nationwide.
Díaz Velázquez reiterated, “the importance of transforming commerce and gastronomy in coordination with various state and non-state actors, including foreign investors, always with the primary goal of fulfilling the sector’s social responsibility to provide services to the population, with particular attention to people in vulnerable situations.”
MINCIN is promoting projects aimed at reforming the state’s administrative management of commerce, gastronomy, and services. Among these initiatives is the Wholesale Market project, which seeks to reorganize wholesale trade by providing individuals and legal entities with direct access to commercial activities as managers and vendors.
The minister also highlighted the Neighborhood Market project, which is being expanded in Guantánamo—a pioneering province that has already established markets in Maisí and Baracoa. These facilities enable businesses and other economic actors to offer products directly to the population.
Progress is also being made in expanding the network of fixed and mobile light-dining establishments. With the participation of various economic actors, the Family Support System (SAF) is being strengthened, while the transition from the regulated food basket to controlled sales continues, alongside efforts to support people in vulnerable situations.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to recognize Guantánamo-based companies in the lodging, property-management, and retail sectors in Caimanera. These entities received the MINCIN 65th Anniversary Collective Award plaque.
