Marino Murillo, the “Antifidelista”

Marino Murillo, the "Antifidelista" / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar
Posted on July 19, 2015

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 18 July 2015 – Like those erratic
comets whose pulse astronomers have not yet measured, Marino Murillo
disappears and reappears on the Cuban political scene, generating gossip
about his "thunder" when he disappears and expectations about its
relentless ascent when he returns.

Those who knew him when he was the Director of the Economy in the
Ministry of the Food Industry say that Murillo was the official who
struggled hardest to get national production to substitute for imports.
However, when he served as Minister of Internal Trade (2006-2009) he was
the one who increased the trade in imported drinks, with obvious
consequences for the domestic industry.

Now, in addition to being Minister of Economy and Planning, he is the
member of the Communist Party Politburo responsible for implementing the
guidelines of the 6th Congress, or, and it's the same thing, the man who
keeps track of the reforms.

"We must concern ourselves with creating wealth, because the economies
with the best results are those that have been able to sustain
production." said Murillo

Which explains that Murillo will "put it to the test" as teachers say to
their students when they present them with some new significant detail
of the subject at hand. And recently he pointed out something revealing
to the deputies of the 8th legislature of the Cuban Parliament: Cuban
companies are governed by the fundamental law of capitalism. Clearly, he
didn't formulate it like that, but for someone with a degree in
Economics who studied in the Soviet Union, the statement that the
fundamental law of the capitalist system is to profit through capital
gains is something that is learned like a catechism.

Therefore – and I am quoting from memory now, when he said that the
basic objective of companies (Socialist State companies) was to produce,
sell and make profits, it was like setting aside what the theorists
enunciate as the fundamental law of the Socialist system which is
expressed in the proposition of "satisfying the needs of an ever growing
population."

Not content with that, two days after he appeared before the delegates
of the 10th Congress of the Young Communist Union, and after clarifying
that the growth of 4.7% in the GDP is still not reflected in the
domestic economy, it is understood on the shelves and in the
refrigerators of every home, he said that, "for this to happen the GDP
needs to grow at a sustained rate of 5% to 6% over several years."

And he added, "We must concern ourselves with creating wealth, because
the economies with the best results are those that have been able to
sustain production. The model must start from the idea that all the
economic actors and the productive forces are working equally and non-stop.

Perhaps I have not been attentive to the evolution of the official
discourse and I've forgotten something, but I don't recall the moment in
which a self-criticism was made to what was, in its time, the magnetic
north of the Revolutionary compass: "It is not to create conscience with
money or wealth, but to create wealth with conscience." (Fidel Castro,
speech delivered on 26 July 1968).

If that has changed, Murillo is the loudest voice against the chorus
loyal to Fidel, proof of that is in the same speech delivered to the
Party pigeons, Murillo said that the time will come when people can live
on their wages, which will increase depending on the ability to create
wealth. "We have to make efficient use of the Socialist State enterprise
to create wealth, which will be returned in salaries," he stressed in
case anyone had not understood.

Murillo is absolutely right, although he stops short, or perhaps he is
measuring his steps. What I can't understand is why this Minister of the
Economy doesn't mention "socialist emulation" or "moral incentives"… am
I missing something?

Source: Marino Murillo, the "Antifidelista" / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar
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