The alternative solutions that they have found in the René Arcay cement factory to generate income that is not usual for their profile, although they are far from compensating for the losses they accumulate due to the limitations in their main production, are changing, for the better, the work environment in the center.
Taking advantage of by-products and factory waste, including the sweepings of cement dust that escapes from the kilns, they have begun, since March, to make and sell hexagonal slabs, recebo and other elements for constructive use that have already earned them almost a million pesos in income, most of them in profits.
The century-old cement factory was one of the economic centers where the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, exchanged with its managers and workers this Saturday.
Together with the member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, Roberto Morales Ojeda, the Head of State continued through Mariel, Artemisa, the meetings that have been held weekly, since the beginning of the year, by the leadership of the Party in the municipalities with the bases. , in economic and social institutions, with the people, and which conclude with a workshop with local and provincial leaders of the organization, among other officials, to analyze compliance with the priorities of the country and the territories for the current year.
Since 2014, René Arcay has not received in-depth maintenance, which is necessary to stabilize its production; In 2023 it produced 107,000 tons of cement, far from the plan of 290,000 tons it had, and accumulated losses of 167 million pesos. For this year it plans to generate 136,000 tons of the binder; However, as of April it has only delivered just under 14,000 tons, accumulating a delay of 31 percent to date.
The unavailability of refractory bricks that must be imported, in order to carry out the repairs needed on the production lines, is the main obstacle, along with diesel for quarry equipment, among other limitations.
However, the desire to do is not lost here, and in the absence of new bricks, they have turned to those from a disused line to recover capacities in the one that is underway.
Díaz-Canel highlighted the search for their own solutions by this labor group, and told them to continue delving into efficiency analyzes to lower the costs per ton of cement and continue expanding alternative productions, an initiative that began with the cement factory. cement of the municipality of Artemisa, where special emphasis is placed on housing policy.
President Díaz-Canel then arrived at the Máximo Gómez thermoelectric plant, another of the economic pillars of a municipality, which also houses a large part of the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), always accompanied by the first secretary of the provincial committee. from the Party, Gladys Martínez Verdecia; the governor of the territory, Ricardo Concepción Rodríguez, and the main political and administrative authorities of the town.
The general director of the “thermo”, engineer Roberto Manuel Pigueiras Fernández, reported on the operation of the plant, which currently has unit No.5 generating, with 55 MW, while unit No.6 is in the process of start and No.8 concluding the extended partial maintenance to which it was subjected for four months.
The Mariel energy node also has a 76 MW mobile generation plant (patana), which this Saturday generated 74 MW, and a fuel oil engine site with an installed power of 147 MW.
Díaz-Canel spoke with a group of young people from the CTE about the training processes, salaries and working conditions and, especially, about the role they have in the entity, if they are listened to, if they are respected. consider.
You, he told them, must continue to improve yourselves, here there are many problems to be solved and you, in this process of finding solutions, will overcome yourself as well. The President recognized the young people, like the rest of his colleagues, for everything they currently do, something that he described as a heroism that the people appreciate. “There are blackouts, but the population knows that you are working,” he said.
The exchanges of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party in Mariel began early in the morning at the Orlando Santana Valdés teaching polyclinic, which serves more than 34,500 inhabitants of four popular councils and also has hospital beds.
Díaz-Canel evaluated several health indicators, primary care and the maternal and child care program, and visited the maternity home that was set up within the same polyclinic, with 16 beds for pregnant women at risk or in vulnerable situations.
This is a project that is developed in many polyclinics in the country with infrastructural conditions for it, and that the President has described as a very positive experience, by bringing pregnant women closer to all the medical specialties they need without having to be transferred to a center. doctor.
After speaking with several pregnant women, whom he asked about diet and other living conditions, Díaz-Canel reiterated that success in caring for our pregnant women is that all those who require it are in the maternal homes and receive the best care.
The President recalled that in 2020 he had already been to this polyclinic, which had just been inaugurated, and that four years later, it is better.
Bahía Honda, San Cristóbal, Bauta, Caimito and now Mariel are the Artemiseño municipalities, from January to May, one per month, in which the First Secretary, accompanied by the Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, has evaluated the work in the localities , under the premise that we will move forward from the current situation, with our own effort and talent.
