• Outstanding status conferred on the provinces of Matanzas and Villa Clara. Work carried out by Guantánamo and Sancti Spíritus recognised.

In the midst of a complex scenario, marked by the numerous limitations imposed by the suffocation policy of the United States Government on the daily life of the Cuban people, the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee agreed to award the province of Pinar del Río the venue for the National Central Event for 26 July, the 73rd anniversary of the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks.

In recent years, this territory has shown results in fulfilling the main tasks in the political, economic and social spheres, with the leading role of workers in production and services, peasants, intellectuals, young people and other sectors of Pinar del Río society.

The province prioritises compliance with the Government’s Economic and Social Programme, the Economy Plan and the State Budget, with impacts on foreign currency income from exports. It is a surplus territory and is reducing the number of loss-making companies.

In the agricultural sphere, it has a work system that has allowed it to boost food production, in close connection with producers, as is evident in the cold and spring campaigns. It also achieves agility in the procedures for the process of granting land in usufruct.

It stands out for the development of tobacco production, the increase of other exportable items and the production of the Ministry of the Food Industry, a branch in which it deploys new links with non-state management forms. The province stands out for its use of renewable energy sources and the implementation of other alternatives to improve the population’s living conditions. It is also distinguished by its environmental work and nature tourism.

In the social sphere, Pinar del Río exhibits an infant mortality rate of 4.4 per thousand live births and reports no maternal deaths. It has adequate coverage of family doctor and nurse surgeries.

Its great effort in education is evident, fundamentally in the completion of teaching staff and in the creation of day-care centres.

In science and innovation, the Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca University of Pinar del Río prioritises territorial development, constituting a benchmark for the rest of the country. The performance of the Social Sciences and Humanities Hub has contributed to this.

In Sport for All, the territory is consolidating itself, with nine national first-category titles.

The province, together with its municipalities and entities, has established a work system that has allowed a greater link between Party and Government structures with communities, especially those in greater situations of vulnerability.

In all these tasks, the role of Pinar del Río’s youth and the functioning of the Young Communist League stand out.

In adopting the decision, the Politburo also agreed to confer Outstanding status on the provinces of Matanzas and Villa Clara, taking into account their main economic, productive and social indicators, and the way in which they have taken on the challenges of the current context.

Both territories show progress in retail trade, exportable items, foreign currency income from exports and assigned revenue. They also achieve surpluses. Although results are still insufficient, they maintain food production and the fight against illegalities in land use and exploitation as a priority.

In transport, they achieve alternatives with electric mobility, the organisation of the state support service for passenger collection, and attention to prioritised sectors, such as health, education and tourism.

They are advancing in the Digital Transformation Policy, the Artificial Intelligence Strategy and maintaining the vitality of the Telecommunications centres of the territories.

The Politburo also granted Recognition to the provinces of Guantánamo and Sancti Spíritus, which, amidst the complexities imposed by the current context, continue to drive prioritised programmes, with broad popular participation.

These five territories face situations similar to the rest of the country, but the assessment took into account the stability of work in recent years and the progress in finding solutions to the multidimensional aggression facing the nation, under the policy of maximum pressure applied by the US Government as collective punishment against Cuba, reinforced by the Executive Orders of 29 January and 1 May last, which affects vital services such as electro-energy, water, transport, health, medicines, food, among others.

Specially, the Politburo extends its recognition and congratulations to all the people, who every day demonstrate firm unity and resistance against the most perverse and prolonged siege in history, as was evident in the massive rallies honouring the 32 combatants who fell in the line of duty in Venezuela, in the celebrations for International Workers’ Day, after the «My Signature for the Homeland» process, in which more than six million 230 thousand Cubans reaffirmed their commitment to peace and the defence of our sovereignty and independence, and in the acts of patriotic reaffirmation and denunciation across the country in the face of the infamous accusation against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution.

In response to the call to implement with urgency and creativity the recently approved economic and social transformations, let us make the celebrations for 26 July, in the year of the Commander-in-Chief’s centenary, the greatest reason to pay tribute to Fidel, to Raúl and to the young people of that generation who, like Ramiro, are inspiration and example for all Cuban patriots, convinced that today My Moncada is the Homeland.