When Deputy Prime Minister, Alejandro Gil Fernandez, and the head of the Commission for the Implementation of the Guidelines, Marino Murillo Jorge, participated at the Cuban TV Round Table discussion to clarify doubts and concerns, denunciations arose linked to the increase in the prices of various products and services before the Ordering Task.

On that occasion, Murillo explained that in the case of self-employed workers, "there will be an increase in the prices of services provided by self-employed workers, because the tendency of people is that 'if they raise their costs, I will raise prices so that my profit margins are not affected. It remains to be seen whether the market will allow them to increase prices indiscriminately. We have calculated an increase in the prices of the Self-Employed (TCP) and it is important to say that the tax burden with which the self-employed operate today is being reviewed.

But this increase to which Murillo refers will come true when the process of monetary and exchange rate regulation finally starts. The problem lies in the fact that prices in various sectors have already risen sharply. Many of those who have increased the value of their services or products claim that they are the new post-COVID prices, thus trying to justify themselves behind the epidemiological situation.

Tomatoes, onions and peppers: Is there no one who can afford these prices?

Agricultural products are targeted for speculation and resale. In Havana, for example, the Provincial Administration Council agreed to establish maximum sales prices for agricultural products sold by the self-employ venders to the supply and demand markets and to carters.

Similarly, current prices would be evaluated bimonthly and fixed according to the seasonality and harvest season of the products. These measures initially kept the value of agricultural products under control, but COVID-19 and the upcoming process of monetary and exchange rate regulation have turned prices upside down.

"The barrow boy in my neighborhood sells an avocado at 20 pesos, a tiny head of garlic at 3 pesos and a pound of sweet potato at 8 pesos, although the top price is 4 pesos and, of course, without making any profit, covered in mud and eaten by insects. This is Eduardo's situation, but he is not the only one who denounces the high prices at which agricultural products are marketed.

Lazaro Alvarez admits being the son of peasants, for this reason he knows what the effort to sow the land means. He considers that although the State limits the prices of agricultural products and no matter how much the salaries increase, it is not enough to buy necessary products. "A pound of tomatoes can cost up to 50 pesos," he says.

For Yemirka Napoles, the main problem lies in supply. "Private farms have products, but at very high prices; however, state farms have nothing to offer. A state worker can not maintain as prices are today with a salary," he said.

From Camagüey, Juan writes to us, this user says that before the implementation of the ordinance task, bread in the illegal bakeries of his province is already at 10 pesos. "The pound of pork is 70 pesos, coffee at 110 pesos and malang at 25 pesos, the pack-chicken eggs in the so-called black market is 150 pesos. Every day there is a proliferation of outlaw vendors," he said.

It is necessary to emphasize that the markets managed by self-employed workers who have incorporated new services at their premises, giving added values, by processing and packing the agricultural products, what established up to 40% above the price approved for agricultural products that commercialize the rest of the forms of management.

The increase has reached an exorbitant number: a glass of chilli at 20 pesos, a bunch of chives at 15 pesos, not to mention the strings and legs of garlic and onions that cost more and more and even in Cuban Convetrible Units. May you pay 25 pesos for an avocado? Can you buy the sweet potato and avocado in a state market with capped prices, before the barrow men takes them away?

These are some of the questions that remain unanswered. For many the answer is quite simple, they have lost respect for other people's money.

"My barber, the same for years, will charge 25 pesos for a hair cut.It was a simple arrangement that only took him 10 minutes. From one day to the next, he raised the price of the service and now he charges twice the price for the same service.

This is the story of one of our users at Cubadebate. Many services have considerably increased their prices, but this increase does not correspond to an improvement in the activity offered to the client.

"Last week, the accountant who takes care of the bicycles in the Tulipan market doubled the price for the same service, because "they are going to raise the salaries", even though the measure had not been announced. Now, getting a flat tire costs 50 pesos if it is a car, and between 10 and 15 pesos if of a bicycle," says Eduardo.

Carlos, another of our users, tells us about the high prices imposed by the bricklayers when charging for a job. "The truth is that the worst mason asks for as much or more money, as if he were an engineer or an architect".

In the bars and restaurants, exorbitant prices are displayed. High quality products such as soft drinks and beers have doubled and even tripled in value.

For Miguel Verdecia the only way to regulate prices and inflation in the country can be summed up in one word: production. The question then would be; what added value are those services having or in what have they improved to charge a higher price for the same activity.

In the economic and social strategy to boost the economy and tackle the global crisis caused by the COVID-19, the Ministry of Finance and Prices determined to gradually establish a single, inclusive policy with equal conditions for all subjects of the economy, including both the state and non-state sectors.

It also proposed the gradual relaxation of the current levels of decentralization in price approvals, as well as the redesign and improvement of price control and inspection mechanisms, so as to strengthen popular control, which includes price monitoring, regulation and systematic confrontation of violations, especially abusive and speculative prices, which in many cases are the result of illegal economic activities.

Denunciations by the population of unjustified price increases should be accompanied by a rapid response from the competent authorities to ensure that Cubans' pockets are not damaged. / CubaDebate / Translated by Gobierno Provincial Holguin.

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