Pinar del Río, Manuel Marrero Cruz, authorities, meeting 

Pinar del Río.– With a call to unleash productive forces and eliminate bureaucracy, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz assessed the implementation of the recently approved economic and social transformations in this province.
The Cuban head of government affirmed that municipalities must be empowered and prepared to assume their new responsibilities.
In this regard, he insisted that the first step must be a review of work systems, because "we will not advance in such a complex process by holding meetings."
Eumelin González Sánchez, governor of Pinar del Río, explained that nine municipalities in the province have the necessary resources and permits to approve their non-agricultural micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives.
He also noted that 1,575 positions have been restructured at the provincial level and another 2,949 at the local level, resulting in savings of over 22 million pesos.
Among the strengths of the Vueltabajo region, he highlighted the presence of 55 production chains (12% more than at the end of 2015), six of which have the potential to become economic associations.
Furthermore, there is an export-import hub at the La Conchita Fruit and Vegetable Canning Company, and work is underway on the design of several foreign investment projects.
In line with the opportunities presented by the new transformations, he reported that four proposals from Cubans residing abroad to invest in the province are being evaluated, in key sectors such as energy, food production, and tourism.
The Prime Minister called for the elimination of bureaucracy in the process for approving new economic actors.
"Our goal is for someone to be able to submit an application to work as a self-employed worker in the morning and be doing so by the afternoon," he said.
At the end of July, he stated that significant progress is expected in implementing the reforms, particularly in areas related to granting greater autonomy to state-owned enterprises, streamlining management and developing non-state management models, downsizing the central government, salary reform, and creating social protection mechanisms.
Regarding this last point, he cautioned that economic measures must be accompanied by social policy proposals to mitigate the unintended consequences of the reforms.
Marrero Cruz, who was accompanied by a group of ministers, also evaluated the aspects related to the central activities for the celebration of the 26th, which will be held in Pinar del Río.