This Friday, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC in Spanish) and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, returned to Las Tunas, this time to the municipality of Jesús Menéndez. This is the third time so far this year that the Cuban leader has come to the Balcón de Oriente, in January he was in Manatí; and in February he visited several centers and productive units of economic importance in the northern territory of Puerto Padre.

His stays here have always been aimed at boosting the work in those places whose results are not favorable now, contrasting them with other existing entities in those same areas.

Díaz-Canel returned with the additional intention of maintaining direct contact with political and government leaders and the citizens of each of the districts, to review, in situ, the fulfillment of the economic and social priorities outlined for 2024 by the PCC.

A STOP AT THE MÁXIMO GÓMEZ BÁEZ BAGASSE BOARD FACTORY

At the Máximo Gómez Báez bagasse board factory, belonging to the UEB Derivados Antonio Guiteras, in the municipality of Jesús Menéndez, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez took an interest in the production levels and the causes that currently keep the plant interrupted.

Daniel Brito Cabrera, head of the group, commented that the lack of lubricating oil and the low availability of energy in the territory are preventing the resumption of production.

The factory has commitments with Communal Services in the making of sarcophagous and at the same time has ventured into the elaboration of doors, beds, wardrobes, baskets, and other articles that the population has welcomed.

"We have an agreement with Education to deliver windows, baskets, and slates, and we plan to increase production."

"For the current year, we have a plan of 415 cubic meters of 3 to 6-millimeter boards and guarantee of the raw material from the Majibacoa and Antonio Guiteras sugar mills."

The long periods of inactivity have caused the unit's personnel to fluctuate. They are running a cafeteria, a sugarcane juice sales point, and a livestock module to protect the workers' income.

VISIT TO THE ARROYÓN FARM

The Cuban President toured the Arroyón farm, belonging to the UEB Cultivos Varios de la Empresa Agroindustrial Municipal Jesús Menéndez. Díaz-Canel assessed the cultivation of 51 hectares (ha), of which 41 are already growing maize, guava, and chickpea plants.

The Agroindustrial Jesús Menéndez, created at the beginning of this year, inherited the areas and resources of the former Agropecuaria of the municipality itself, which for decades suffered from debts and was always among the worst economic indexes among its peers in the province.

Now, said its director Alexander Almaguer Gallego, they have embarked on a recovery program by planting 291 hectares of various crops, especially cassava, bananas, and sweet potatoes, plus 2,488 hectares dedicated to livestock.

The first figures for 2024 are encouraging for the entity, said the director, because in the first half of the year, they exceeded by 11 percent the planned quantities of liters of milk and by 36 percent the planned tons of beef.

In recent months, they also harvested 140 tons of various crops, although, in this last aspect, the results are yet to come, especially if they can recover all the land they have and if they can take advantage of the water that comes from the Juan Sáez reservoir, through the 9.26 kilometers of lined canals they have.

Díaz-Canel insisted that these newly created companies could not be born inheriting the debts of their predecessors. After hearing how the irrigation machines have been recovered here, he said: "Experiences like these must be multiplied."

AT THE HERRADURA 1 WIND FARM

He first visited the site of the Herradura I wind farm and took an interest in the progress of construction, which dates back to March 2018.

At the electrical substation, the president was informed about the details of the project update, which in its first stage foresees the installation of 22 wind turbines of 1.5 megawatts that will contribute to the increased use of renewable energy sources in the region.

Carlos Arias Sobrino, general director of the Las Tunas Power Company, explained that so far the 22 bases to support the wind turbines have been cast and work is currently underway on the 110 KV power line, civil works for the electrical substation, the maintenance center and the wind farm operations center.

He pointed out that the Great Wind project, despite the economic limitations, has not stopped and today progress is being made on the most important sites, which will allow, in the current year, to be in better conditions for the assembly with its technical schedules, when all the equipment is on the ground in Las Tunas.

"We are working, starting from a minimum scheme, with what we have available the assembly of 22 wind turbines that will provide 33 megawatts.  Synchronized to the SEN, they will allow the territory to have a stable generation of around 20 megawatts, which will allow the displacement of loads at times of peak demand and, therefore, a remarkable saving of resources."

Arias Sobrino highlighted the impact of this park, which has been designed in total harmony with the environment and whose project has been designed to withstand large-scale weather events.

The president, accompanied by Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the Organization of the Central Committee, inquired about the details of the great environmental project that aims to install 34 wind turbines and generate a total of 51 megawatts.

Díaz-Canel Bermúdez urged to speed up the work with the available resources, to plan imports, and to work in a coordinated manner to get the first circuit connected to the SEN up and running in the shortest possible time.

He assured that the country is willing to promote this project and that the Chinese counterpart reiterated its intention to collaborate in the current context of energy instability that Cuba is facing.