Amid the worsening economic crisis and deep public discontent, the Cuban regime has officially acknowledged that the country's recovery is still a long way off.
“Much remains to be done,” acknowledged Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz this Wednesday, while presenting the results of the so-called “Government Program to correct distortions and boost the economy” to the National Assembly of People’s Power.
The acknowledgment, although embellished with a triumphalist language, highlights the weariness of the current economic model and the government's inability to reverse a situation that many Cubans face with daily distress: prolonged blackouts, shortages, runaway inflation, and a growing uncertainty about the future.
During his presentation at the Palace of Conventions, Marrero listed the figures of the new governmental plan: 10 general objectives, 87 specific ones, 230 goals and indicators, and 269 actions. However, beyond the PowerPoint and the statistics, the reality is that the national economy continues to struggle.
The week started with a devastating piece of news: the Cuban economy contracted again in 2024, experiencing a GDP decline of 1.1%, as reported by Minister of Economy Joaquín Alonso.
“What is currently entering the country is not enough even for basic supplies,” he confessed before Parliament, in an unusual moment of honesty.
Alonso acknowledged that there is no fuel or parts to keep the thermoelectric plants operational; that the electric generation system is on the verge of collapse and that exports only met 62% of the target. "We have been lacking energy, and without energy, there can be no development," he stated.
However, this was not the only stark confession of the day. The ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel himself admitted that the country's revenues do not even cover raw materials and that the current policy is limited to "redistributing scarcity."
Meanwhile, prior to the plenary session this Wednesday, the National Assembly issued a statement that once again holds the United States responsible for the Cuban crisis. The text describes U.S. policy as "genocidal" and accuses Washington of imposing "an economic, commercial, and financial war" to provoke the collapse of the system.
However, for many citizens both inside and outside the island, these justifications are becoming increasingly unconvincing. On social media, Cubans have reacted with skepticism to official figures and recycled promises. “Now the blackouts, hunger, and misery are really going to end,” joked journalist José Raúl Gallego while sharing the government's presentation.
With a government program that promises change yet repeats old formulas, and an economy that continues to decline, the question lingering in the air is the same one millions of Cubans are asking: how much longer?
Because while indicators, goals, and objectives are being discussed at the Convention Palace, bread, oil, medicine, electricity, and hope are in short supply on the streets of Cuba.
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