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Discourse on "sustainable human development" while waving a hand with a luxury watch, which shows the same time as any other watch, is, to say the least, hypocrisy. And in Cuba, this hypocrisy has names: Miguel Díaz-Canel and his wife, the "not first lady" Lis Cuesta Peraza.
While the Cuban people struggle to survive the worst economic crisis in decades, facing extreme shortages of food and medicine, blackouts of up to 20 hours and poverty that borders on the medieval, the "royal family" strolls about enjoying luxuries fitting for millionaires, the bourgeoisie, and the aristocracy they so often criticize in their speeches.
The latest demonstration of this audacity took place at the International Congress Pedagogy 2025, a event supposedly focused on "education, science, and innovation for sustainable human development".
And, of course, who better to speak about "sustainability" and "education" than Cuesta Peraza, that tireless promoter of "cultural tourism", the export of academic services, lover of good food and coordinator of the panel "The Internationalization of Education in the Knowledge Society."
Her presentation, an "intellectual luxury" on par with the watch she wore on her wrist, was removed from the event website. However, on social media, the Aigner (Ladies Watch Dogna Silver-Gold) she purchased with her salary as a modest ministerial official was laid bare.
Nothing, a trinket valued at 549 euros! If Aigner advertises that it "represents craftsmanship, the highest quality, and timeless design, as well as luxury, trend, and the spirit of fashion since 1965," those are exaggerations from the Munich manufacturer. It’s not that big of a deal; it’s just a small detail for someone who advocates for equity and social development!
From the Bible he held in his hand and the paper that protruded from its pages, on which could be read, "This is the citation about...," without further comments. Just like his attire for the occasion.
Cuesta Peraza, who has also been seen before wearing a million-dollar Cartier watch during the defense of her doctoral thesis, seems to have studied the concept of "social equality," but putting it into practice...
In its version, the "equality" that socialism advocates, which the regime imposes as the sole ideology - and defends as a last resort to legitimize its totalitarianism - is not incompatible with the image of a starving and repressed people while she parades at international events, "inflating" with her luxury jewels.
Surely, her removed presentation included a fierce critique of the inequality in the capitalist world, the very one in which the watches and accessories she and her circle enjoy are sold.
Because the "not first lady" is not alone in this display of luxury amidst widespread misery. Her husband has also been spotted with high-end watches on multiple occasions. In 2019, he sported a TAG Heuer worth $1,750 during a visit to Sancti Spíritus.
In 2024, he crowned his hypocrisy with a $13,000 Rolex GMT Master II while receiving the Cuban delegation for the Paris Olympic Games. All of this in a country where most workers earn less than $20 a month.
Luxury also extends to the stepson of the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), Manuel Anido Cuesta, who has been seen on his "international tours" with a Montblanc Extreme 3.0 portfolio valued at $1,385.
The "advisor" and "dissident of the family," who is presented as an "advisory" official of the ruling party, has a weakness for luxury brands, something that Cubans have noticed as they wonder how his salary allows him to stroll around with a look worth over 3,000 dollars alongside his partner, actress Ana de Armas, through Madrid, Tuscany, and other idyllic locations and stays in old, capitalist Europe.
While Cubans desperately search for food, the family enthroned in the Palace by the grace of dictator Raúl Castro strolls around with designer accessories that cost what a Cuban family does not earn in a decade.
This entire display of ostentation takes place at an event brimming with sponsors, which interestingly include organizations like UNESCO, the British Council, and UNICEF, theoretically dedicated to equity and development.
Alongside them, Cuban companies such as ETECSA—known for its exorbitant rates in a country where connectivity is a luxury—and the state sugar group AZCUBA, which could well explain where the sugar that is increasingly absent from the average Cuban's table has gone.
Other institutions also include Mipymes Guajiritos S.R.L., Dofleini, and the trolls nest of the UCI (University of Computer Sciences), which associate with the regime in this circus of "education for development."
The contradiction is so brutal that even Orwell would not have dared to write something so blatant: a congress on "sustainable development" where the wife of the leader, who calls for austerity and sacrifice, displays luxury watches, while the people have nothing to eat. We have reached the point where the pigs walk on two legs.
A government that shouts "socialism or death," yet struts around with imported designer accessories from Europe. A regime that talks incessantly about "equality," while its elite indulges in the perks of a system of privileges that would make any Gulf monarchy blush.
Until when will the Cuban people have to endure this disgrace? How many more luxury watches will be added to the display of ostentation from the "royal family"? Shouldn’t La Machi part with her jewels to alleviate the suffering of Cubans or Palestinians, to whom she dedicates melodramatic tweets with "a heart in scrub mode"?
While Cuesta Peraza and Díaz-Canel continue to play their "little houses" game as new rich - with the sweat and hunger of the people - the gap between revolutionary propaganda and harsh reality keeps widening. And although they persist in adorning their wrists with gold and diamonds, history has already condemned them to the pages of the infamous and loathsome.
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