Orlando Borrego. Photo: Canarias Semanal.
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On the night of this Friday, June 25, he died at 85 years of age, because of COVID-19, the revolutionary fighter Orlando Borrego Díaz, writer and economist, who was one of Ernesto Che Guevara’s closest companions since he joined Column 8 “Ciro Redondo”, commanded by the Argentine guerrilla, in which he reached the rank of first lieutenant.
After the triumph of the Revolution, he held the positions of Head of the Military Economic Board of the Cabaña Regiment (1959), Second Head of the Industrialization Department and later, Head of said department (1959-1960).
In addition, He was Undersecretary of Basic Industries, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industries (1961-1964), Minister of the Sugar Industry (1964-1968) and Advisor to the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers (1973-1980).
He graduated in Economics from the University of Havana (UH) in 1973 and in 1980 he received a doctorate in Economics from the Institute of Mathematical Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.
At the triumph of the Bolivarian Revolution and at the request of the president, Commander Hugo Chávez Frías, he fulfilled various advisory and cooperation tasks assigned such as the organization of the National Planning School, conferences in the National Assembly of Venezuela on the Economic Models experienced in Cuba, organization Integral of the State of Barinas at the request of the fellow Governor of the State Adán Chávez Frías, with the approval of President Hugo Chávez, advising the Che Guevara Mission for three years, periodically traveling to that country to fulfill these functions, since these were performed simultaneously with his work as an advisor to the Minister of Transportation of our country.
In March 2014, he officially retired from MITRANS and continued advising and collaborating with the José Martí Cultural Society and the Martiano Program and with the National Association of Cuban Economists (ANEC).
In May of that same year (2014) he traveled to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela at the request of its president, Nicolás Maduro Moro, to collaborate and advise on some fundamentally academic tasks and as a continuation of what was indicated by Commander Hugo Chávez Frías, work that culminated in mid-April 2015, with a highly positive evaluation.
He also advised the “Che Guevara” chair of the UH and the Cuban Ministry of Transportation.
Among his best-known publications are: “The development of the sugar industry in Cuba” (1965), “The science of management, antecedents and current approaches” (1987), “El Che en el socialismo” (1989), “El Che in the XXI century ”.
For his results he has obtained multiple recognitions and decorations such as:
- Medal as Combatant of the Ciro Redondo Column, in 1960;
- Commemorative Medal of the XX Anniversary of the Revolution, signed by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz in 1973,
- The “Combatant of the Clandestine Struggle” and the “Combatant of the War of Liberation” medals.
- Medals for the 20th, 30th and 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, the latter in 2006.
Condolences from the Union of Journalists of Cuba reach out to family and friends.
(Taken from Cubaperiodistas)
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