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The deep economic and social crisis that Cuba is experiencing has even led figures associated with the government to raise their voices in demand of urgent transformations.
Thus acted journalist Ayose Naranjo, former director of the newspaper Girón, the official organ of the Communist Party in Matanzas, who published a text on his Facebook profile denouncing the extreme vulnerability in which Cuban society finds itself.
"Cuba has become a vulnerable society. As fragile and worn out as the slogans that still adorn the institutions of the city, which, repeated for so many years, are gradually being consumed letter by letter, and with the slightest breeze, one fine day, they fall like dry branches," Naranjo stated in a harsh analysis of the country's reality.
The journalist questioned the use of the term "vulnerable" as a euphemism that is abused by the government of the “continuity” of Miguel Díaz-Canel to describe the precarious situation in which millions of Cubans live as a result of his economic measures and political decisions that, far from realizing the slogan that “no one will be left behind”, are increasing poverty and social exclusion in Cuba.
In his reflection, he emphasized that the crisis on the Island is not a temporary phenomenon, but rather a prolonged situation that has become normalized. "As I write this, I fear that the brevity of the word ‘years’ fails to convey the tedious accumulation of days and months that multiply when it comes to survival," he stated.
Naranjo addressed the social fracture caused by mass emigration, with families divided and homes where older generations are left alone.
"Because it is striking how often mothers meet to support, console, and encourage each other, as their children left yesterday or will leave tomorrow. One tells the other that they are doing well (...) and that they support their decision, among other things, because they know that the young man is very family-oriented, and as soon as he arrives—whether he comes with Spanish citizenship or makes his way through Central America—he will quickly send back some dollars and medications without which, on this side, it would be impossible to schedule the operation for the brother or the grandmother."
It also highlighted the precarization of Cuban youth, with teenagers engaged in informal jobs, university students unable to afford their education, and highly qualified professionals resorting to subsistence activities to survive. "Teenagers pushing carts and standing on platforms; young people who cannot afford university; university students working 12 hours without being able to meet their most basic needs; are they not all, today, vulnerable?"
"Those who cut cane in the 70s, those who fought in Angola and returned alcoholic, injured, or traumatized; those who sacrificed their vocation for the country's needs, the surgeon who works night shifts to practice their profession; the teacher who in the 90s exchanged teaching for hotel work; the retiree; the pensioner; the sick person; the caregiver, are they not all, today, vulnerable?" asked the journalist, highlighting the precarious situation faced by different sectors of society.
In his text, he also criticized the government rhetoric that insists on resistance as the only response to the crisis. "Instead of alternatives, slogans emerge that invite us to resist as a response, as a way of life, bolstered by evocations of past heroes in the absence of current leaders and the lack of convincing policies that might inspire even a faint sense of hope."
Naranjo directly questioned the official narrative about the supposed revolutionary victory: "There is no victory that can truly be claimed as such if it is based on daily agony, on the prolonged struggle for survival for the majority of people. In the end, time goes by, and generations come and go, watching their faces and aspirations grow old as they cross the thresholds of vulnerability."
Finally, he made his position clear by stating that the country needs "an urgent, total, effective change, now." His statement has had a strong impact on social media, where many citizens have applauded his bravery, while others have pointed out the contradiction of such a significant critique coming from someone who until recently was part of a state-run media outlet.
In a context of growing popular discontent, Naranjo's message reflects the exhaustion of a sector that until now had defended the government's discourse, but can no longer ignore the depth of the crisis affecting Cuba. His words have reignited the debate about the country's future and the urgency for a structural change that allows Cubans to escape precariousness.
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