In Havana last night, a sea of youth advanced down University Hill to the Fragua Martiana, near the city’s waterfront, to celebrate a date all Cubans know: the birth José Martí. On January 28, 1853, the most universal of all Cubans was born “in a modest house on Paula Street, where the wall overlooked the port,” as writer Jorge Mañach describes it.

One hundred and sixty years later, the people once again light the streets, as part of a tradition that began with a group of young patriots, when, 100 years later, this date was celebrated in 1953.

On the anniversary of José Martí’s birth in 1960, Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara said that there are many ways to honor Martí. “Marti can and must be honored in the way he would like, when he said at the top of his lungs: The best way to say, is to do,” as Raúl Alejandro Palmero, president of the Federation of University Students remembered when he called on those present to join recovery efforts in Havana in the wake of a devastating tornado, and to defend the Revolution approving the country’s new Constitution on February 24.

In addition to torch lit marches across the country, floral wreaths in the name of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and Cuban President Díaz-Canel were placed alongside the Apostle’s mausoleum in Santiago de Cuba’s Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, plus others from the Councils of State and Minister and the Cuban people.

The most recent working meeting led by the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, was dedicated to the analysis of these complex issues, and saw the participation of Council of Ministers’ vice presidents, ministers and officials of the bodies that make up the government commission responsible for studying these matters.

The head of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines Implementation and Development Standing Committee, Marino Murillo Jorge, reiterated that the main determining factors in this regard are the sustained low fertility rate, the increase in life expectancy at birth, and the negative net migration rate.

As he explained, at the end of 2017, in three provinces – Havana, Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus – and in 55 municipalities, the population decreased naturally, as more deaths occurred than births. It is estimated that this trend will continue through the end of this year, he said.

It was recalled that in 2014, the Council of Ministers approved a policy aimed at encouraging more births, as well as meeting the needs of the increasingly growing population aged 60 years and older.

As a result of this governmental policy, measures have been adopted aimed at developing the network of services for infertile couples, and increasing their effectiveness in all provinces and municipalities.

The Cuban President insisted that more attention should be paid to this program, from the municipality to the national level, to further facilitate the process for couples in this situation.

In this regard, Public Health Minister, José Angel Portal Miranda, acknowledged that there are still areas which need to be improved, and work is ongoing in this regard.

Another of the measures addressed was to prioritize the delivery of subsidies to mothers with three or more children under 12 years of age, to purchase the necessary materials for the construction or repair of their homes.

President Díaz-Canel was interested in the situation regarding the layette offered to pregnant women, and stressed that this is a subject that should be viewed with the greatest sensitivity.

It is necessary to study alternatives to ensure that the layette continues evolving in quality, in its presentation, and in the designs it includes, he concluded.

(Granma)