Cuban Entrepreneur: Between the Plan, the Lack of Resources, and Reality

A few days ago, I spoke with a Cuban entrepreneur with whom I have a friendship and with whom I discuss different matters every time we meet. The topics are always the same: work, family, and the country’s situation.

The conversation we had at this last meeting revolved around the production plan for the year 2027 of the company he directs. He told me that they are demanding a percentage higher than the previous year’s, which I don’t remember how much it amounts to.

I thought he was referring to the closing of the current year; he replied that it was about the plan, not compliance. This entrepreneur adds that they have no possibility of fulfilling the 2026 plan for several reasons, among them, the lack of electricity and raw materials.

He explained that his national body informed him that they have no allocation of raw materials for next year and that everything must be managed through productive linkages with MSMEs and self-employed workers.

I didn’t know what to say to him, but I thought that, although much of what his superior body directs is contained in the 176 measures and the 23 axes of the economic and social transformations approved by the country’s highest leadership, it will not be easy for him to comply.

My question, without being an entrepreneur, is: if the superior body could not, at its moment, guarantee resources and electricity for the 2026 plan, how is a provincial company going to guarantee the 2027 plan, with a figure higher than the one agreed for the current year?