Cuban leader encourages 'critical' thinking in economic reforms

Cuban leader Raul Castro has called on the country's decision-makers to take a "critical" look at the ongoing economic reforms to detect places where improvements can be made, the official daily Granma reported Monday. The government will continue its drive to modernize the nation' s socialist model, but such new measures required careful scrutiny, Castro told a meeting Saturday of the Council of Ministers. "What we do isn't perfect, sometimes we lack experience in certain areas and we make mistakes," said Castro, which is why " each matter needs to be subjected to constant critical observation. " He also encouraged more decentralized decision-making and independent thinking. "We have gotten used to directions coming from above and that must change. Supervisory agencies, from the ( western) town of Sandino to the (eastern) town of Maisi, must issue their opinions in the right place, at the right time and in the right way." During the meeting, ministers also studied the creation of new cooperatives, or limited free-market enterprises, as part of the modernization drive. Marino Murillo Jorge, chairman of the Economic Policy Commission, said 228 new cooperatives were under consideration in such sectors as trade, restaurants/prepared foods and services, construction, transportation, industry and food production, as well as energy and accounting services. Castro noted "We cannot rush to constantly approve such cooperatives ... We are moving forward and will continue to do so, but without haste." The first 126 experimental enterprises involved in non- agricultural economic activities were approved in April of 2013. By July, 71 more had been added, and by October another 73 established.