Latinnews Daily - 22 December 2017

Cuba: The vice president of the council of ministers, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, who also serves as economy & planning minister, announced that Cuba’s GDP will grow by 1.6% this year driven by activity in the tourism, transport, and agriculture sectors. Cabrisas made the announcement at a national assembly session which also approved the extension of the terms in office for members of provincial assemblies until 25 March 2018 and those of the national assembly until 19 April 2018, when a new vice president and president will be elected, along with other members of the council of state. This effectively signals a two-month delay in the historic handover from President Raúl Castro to a new president which had been due to take place in February 2018. According to state mouthpiece Granma, this is in line with the changes made to the electoral calendar due to the serious damage caused on the Island by hurricane ‘Irma’, which resulted in the postponement of the 18 September date initially chosen for the election of municipal assemblies (the first stage in the general electoral process) to 26 November, with a second round where needed held on 3 December.

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