The First Secretary of the Party's Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, called for harnessing all potential existing in municipalities and deploying the true materialization of recently approved economic and social transformations during his visits Thursday to Cerro and Marianao, two of the most populous municipalities in the Cuban capital.

During exchanges with the Municipal Defense Councils of both districts, the Head of State inquired about attention to the most complex issues, which today include electricity generation — amid a deep crisis caused by the energy siege imposed over six months ago by the U.S. government — water supply, garbage collection, local bread production, and care for vulnerable people.

He also asked about relations with the non-state sector and its responsibility to the community; the recovery of sports areas and cultural spaces; the work of the Family Care System; summer activities; and attention to young people who neither study nor work.

In dialogue with leaders of the Party, Government, Young Communist Union, and mass organizations from both municipalities, the president emphasized the need to remain constantly connected with the people — explaining, arguing, and seeking solutions often born from the locality itself.

In both Cerro and Marianao, Díaz-Canel exchanged views with young people who are part of the Community Youth Network, a novel experience of Cuban youth participation in solving neighborhood problems. He learned about their work in caring for vulnerable families, elderly people living alone, pregnant women, as well as cultural, sports, training, and health promotion activities.

He also insisted that "municipalities must prepare to assume municipal autonomy; local enterprises must prepare to assume business autonomy; you yourselves must prepare to manage businesses with direct foreign investment, closed financing schemes in foreign currency, and businesses with Cubans residing abroad and in our own country."

Díaz-Canel spoke about how to achieve economic associations between state and non-state sectors in the municipality, how to take advantage of currently idle productive capacities, and how to apply different business modalities across all areas.

In this way, the president added, "we will move toward a moment in which we unleash all productive forces at the municipal level, to improve as quickly as possible the supply levels for the population, purchasing power, the salary-price relationship, and set out on a path that leads us to prosperity."

These exchanges, in which Politburo member and Party Central Committee Organization Secretary Roberto Morales Ojeda also participates, began this week in Playa and will extend to the remaining municipalities of Havana.