Ration books in Cuba will be eliminated gradually

The elimination of the ration book will have to be very gradual, according to an explanation on this Wednesday's "Mesa Redonda" radio and TV program.  The head of the Commission for the Implementation of the Guidelines, Marino Murillo Jorge, responded to the question of what will happen with the rationing and regulated distribution of products on a large scale in Cuba.

Leaving a group of products, without subsidies and for the ration book, is already a step forward, Murillo pointed out.  Last October 8, during a TV appearance, President Miguel Díaz-Canel pointed out that in a first stage the ration book will be kept as a mechanism to ensure the access of citizens to basic items under conditions of supply deficit and to protect against hoarding and speculation.

"Later, when our markets have another situation and a group of economic and financial relations advance, we will have to evolve to eliminate the book," he said.

Murillo said that as a distribution mechanism, the ration book works and it is important to maintain it for now.