What is the outcome of the price control initiative in Sancti Spíritus?

Among the many findings from the oversight campaign targeting compliance with payment gateway and price regulations in Sancti Spíritus is the fact that legal requirements regarding online payments are being ignored.

Neither the more than 200 fines issued nor the business closures recorded during operations across much of the province have managed to eradicate this problem.

The same scenarios prevail: flat refusals; limits on the amount accepted; excuses about error codes; restricting payments to specific zones; high surcharges for electronic transactions; or accepting only transfers to private accounts. In short, it is a picture of total lawlessness and disorder.

And as if that were not enough, the response to this recent crackdown on all forms of illegality—led by municipal and provincial inspectors alongside specialists from various entities—was the path of least resistance.

Businesses are simply closing down, or sales are shifting to the black market—conducted from private homes or advertised on social media, where, so far, regulatory efforts do not seem to reach.

It has become a trend—as has the shortage of goods. For days at a time, essential products like cooking oil and meat disappear completely from the shelves. When they can be found, the prices are enough to give you a heart attack—and, of course, there is no hope of purchasing them via any virtual platform.

To make matters worse, this is all unfolding at the epicenter of a situation where several new measures converge: greater flexibility in securing premises for business activities, the deregulation of prices based on supply and demand, and the mandatory use of digital payment gateways for transactions.

Consequently, the age-old act of buying and selling has turned into a veritable “law of the jungle.” Everyone sets their own rules, yet consumers are often required to pay in cash at a time when actually holding five physical pesos feels almost like a fantasy.

Vendors face a similar plight. As long as Cuba lacks wholesale markets where retailers can purchase goods via online payment, demanding that they comply with regulations remains yet another of the many inconsistencies persisting today.

The same applies when they visit bank branches to withdraw the funds collected in their accounts, only to find there is no cash available. It is an endless cycle of rule-breaking and a business environment that lacks the necessary infrastructure to operate effectively.

This raises many questions that demand immediate answers. How are shelves stocked without physical cash? How can vendors withdraw significant sums to reinvest in their businesses and cover their own personal expenses? Where are the state-supplied goods intended to counterbalance the offerings of the private market?

Consequently, the only strategy that has yielded results so far is to “square up”—not in the sense of balancing the cash register, but by complying with requirements whenever an online payment is attempted.

Yet, no contextual twist justifies tax evasion—one of the many infractions arising from non-compliance with regulations. Banking data published in various provincial media outlets indicate that, around the time of inspections and under regulatory pressure, some business owners have moved to reactivate or open their tax accounts, though they remain the minority.

One need only look at the known figures: there are over 20,000 self-employed workers across the territory and around 400 MSMEs. To this, one must add the illegal and virtual points of sale.

Undoubtedly, the impunity currently seen at the counters of commercial establishments—where online payment options seem to be merely decorative—requires a response that goes far beyond fines or business closures.

Both theory and practice agree on the urgent need to boost production as the only lifeline for the national economy—an economy that has been dragging along for a very long time, despite emergency measures.

As long as there is no market offering a wide variety and sufficient quantity of products, it will be impossible to generate the substantial revenue needed to conduct buying and selling without so many violations.

One can only hope that this reality—possible, necessary, and almost desperately needed to alleviate many of the country’s tensions—does not remain something to be realized only in another life.