The people of Las Tunas are moving from the countryside to the cities and towns

The province of Las Tunas ended 2019 with a population of 534,184 inhabitants, 1,151 less than at the end of 2018, representing a decrease of 0.1 percent and the lowest figure in the last five years.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- These numbers, from various studies by the Provincial Statistics Office, show that the population of Las Tunas is gradually decreasing. But how are the migrations within our territory behaving?

The answer is given by Tomás Escalona Espinosa, head of the Department of Demography, Census and Population Survey: "Comparing 2019 with 2012, the urban part grows by 12,961 people and the rural part decreases by 11,422.

In other words, the people of Las Tunas are moving from the countryside to the cities and towns, and with that, there are fewer hands to produce the land. In addition to this phenomenon, there is one that has marked us for some time: the population is aging and families continue to bet on one or two children only.

PANORAMA OF RURAL AREAS, IS NOT ALWAYS THE MOST FAVOURABLE

The people of Las Tunas are moving from the countryside to the cities and towns

In the eight municipalities of Las Tunas, there are 83 popular councils; of these 14 are urban, 26 semi-urban and 43 rural. For those who live in urban areas, life is relatively more comfortable, as they receive basic services more easily. But in the countryside, the situation is different.

All of them have family doctor and nurse's offices, schools, warehouses and other entities; however, it is not enough for the population to stay in those places.

Several times, the media of the province have reported on the main issues in the different processes of accountability of the delegate to his or her constituents and they coincide in the poor condition of the roads, serious problems with transportation of rural routes, the non-arrival of some basic products on time, electrification and the scarce options for recreation.

In this sense, the rodeo has been lost, the cultural and sports promoters do not do any more actions and the Cucalambeana Festival of base takes place only once a year and some meetings in the social circle.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

The people of Las Tunas are moving from the countryside to the cities and towns

An important step forward is in the electrification of rural areas through different alternatives; among them, the installation of solar photovoltaic panels in isolated settlements that do not meet the requirements to be connected to the National Electric Energy System, because they have less than 15 concentrated houses.

According to a recent statement made to the Granma newspaper by Omilton Rodríguez Rivas, the Electricity Company's investment director, this year the improvement of deficient connexions continues, with seven neighborhoods planned for electrification since in Las Tunas there are still some 18,000 such connections.

The Delegation of the Institute of Hydraulic Resources carries out other actions to give differentiated attention to the communities, according to its executive, Mirtha García Rojas.

"In the province, we guarantee water, through small aqueducts, to 24 percent of the population living in rural areas; that is, 41,466 benefited people. And to that, we add that in this stage of drought that, fortunately, we left behind, the liquid was transferred through pipes to 480 towns, in conjunction with the Community Services Company."

There is still dissatisfaction, especially in the municipalities of Manatí and Puerto Padre, but work is being done to solve it gradually.

There are also improvements in transportation; although in addition to objective limitations due to lack of fuel and spare parts, the situation of the roads is affected.

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES

The people of Las Tunas are moving from the countryside to the cities and towns

The Agricultural Production Cooperatives (CPA in Spanish) and Credit and Service Cooperatives (CCS in Spanish) are, together with the Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC in Spanish), the economic center of the rural communities of Las Tunas, so their performance depends largely on the satisfaction of the neighbors.

These entities work to make the settlements more welcoming, not only in their infrastructure but also in the value given to the individual and collective contribution of the residents and their economic results.

Although he is currently recovering from surgical intervention, Aldo Rodríguez Prieto feels satisfaction for the contributions of the Omar Pérez Pérez CCS to the area of San Gregorio, in the head municipality. He is the president of the productive form and knows of deliveries and responsibilities in favor of his environment.

"In the community, we attend primary school and the family doctor´s office; we even rebuilt it two years ago. Also, the socio-cultural circle and the regulated store. In addition, at the CCS we guarantee lunch to the teachers so that they can spend their whole day there and teach our children with quality."

Another example is the Triunfo de la Revolución (Triumph of the Revolution) UBPC, in Jobabito, where its administrator, Anastasio Ávila Nápoles, explains that the entity has helped improve the family doctor's office with furniture and masonry and carpentry work, while gradually repairing the roads in the area.

In Becerra, the Calixto Sarduy Arcia CPA has been part of the local development, according to its president Reydenis González Céspedes, who assures that "there are around two thousand quite solid houses, for the good of the rural families.

"We always support the clinic, the winery, the gastronomy, the bakery, the two schools... We put our hands where they need them. We have repaired two kilometers of roads and made the socio-cultural circle, which cost more than 20,000 pesos.

A vision of the matter was recently offered by Juan Alberto Peña Pérez, associated with the Mártires de Omaja CCS, from Majibacoa.

"It is difficult. Conditions must be improved to guarantee the near future. Without the field, we have no city. The food for the city comes from the countryside and only 14 percent of Cubans live there. Staying in the rural areas is very complex, despite what has been created since the triumph of the Revolution, with the family doctor, electrifying everything that can be...

"We have to continue working with the basic conditions for permanence. Those who stay there are, as I say, the elderly. We have to incorporate young people, who are our continuity. That is a job we must do and in the short term, it is urgent to speed up that task".

WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO TO KEEP PEOPLE IN THE FIELD?

The people of Las Tunas are moving from the countryside to the cities and towns

Actually, young people do not want to stay in the countryside; sometimes because they want to and most of the time because families want "a better future for their children".

However, from the state's point of view, there is a lack of actions such as those already mentioned regarding the recreation of children, adolescents and young people, and others that perhaps in the medium or long term can be resolved when the country's economic situation improves.

It is also important that the productive forms demand technicians or engineers in specialties related to lands such as Veterinary Medicine, Forestry, Mechanization, Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering because many times the courses are not opened due to lack of applications.

It remains to be seen what will happen in the future. Many are betting on small neighborhoods that will slowly disappear, and others, the minority, believe that the opposite process to the one we are living today will be possible: the return to rural areas.

But the reality is a sign that heralds the future. Now, unfortunately, people are leaving; and the most worrying thing is that young people are looking to make their nest in other places.

 

  Years      Las Tunas Population

 

  Total Urban Rural
2012 532645 347083 185562
2015 537241 356099 181142
2016 537221 358051 179170
2017 536094 359043 177051
2018 535335 359647 175688
2019 534184 360044 174140