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In the midst of a fierce discrediting campaign launched by the Cuban regime this week against the independent media El Toque, Cuban economist Mauricio de Miranda Parrondo responded with a devastating message on Facebook, where he urged “to stop deceiving the people” and directly held the political power responsible for the economic collapse the country is experiencing.
The offensive began after reports from Razones de Cuba and the official spokesperson Humberto López, who accused the media of “financial terrorism”, “currency trafficking,” “tax evasion,” and supposedly manipulating the informal dollar rate to “depress the income of the population.”
A narrative reiterated by ministers, the Central Bank, Minister Bruno Rodríguez, and even President Miguel Díaz-Canel, without presenting verifiable evidence.
But for De Miranda, that strategy is nothing more than another maneuver to divert responsibilities.
In his extensive post, the economist dismantled the official thesis that El Toque causes the devaluation of the Cuban peso, stating that “no publication can destabilize an economy, much less impoverish a country. These are just tall tales.”
According to De Miranda, the poverty that suffocates Cubans has much deeper and prolonged causes, such as decades of failed economic policies, political voluntarism, productive destruction, and the chronic inability of those in power.
He also added the impact of U.S. sanctions, which he acknowledges as real, but he claims that the regime uses them as a shield to avoid taking responsibility for resolving internal issues.
"It’s enough already with looking for scapegoats."
The economist devoted a significant part of his message to a series of questions that directly target the ruling elite: who nationalized everything without having productive capacity? who dismantled the fruit trees and destroyed the livestock? who decided to close sugar mills? who dollarized consumption without dollarizing income? who maintains a military and financial conglomerate beyond citizen control?
His response is implicit but unequivocal: it was neither the digital platforms nor the independent economists. It was the Cuban state itself.
“It’s enough already of deceiving the Cuban people. It’s enough already of searching for 'scapegoats' to hide the negligence, the incompetence, and the ineptitude of a bureaucracy that only cares about its own survival.”
One of the most poignant moments of his message was directed at the Central Bank of Cuba, whose leadership joined the accusations against El Toque, indicating that “Is the Central Bank the monetary authority? Very well, fulfill your function. You should not issue money without backing in accordance with the government's requirements.”
The economist noted that the only way to avoid dependence on the informal market, which the government tries to attribute to El Toque, is to create a formal, legal, and transparent currency market, not manipulated by "incompetent" bureaucrats.
"The country needs solutions, not lamentations."
In an unusually emotional tone, De Miranda acknowledged that he was writing out of indignation: "One can feel out of place... Old Havana with La Lenin can be a very strong mix," he said, referring to his own background.
And he ended with a direct warning to those who hold power:
"The country needs solutions, not complaints, not blame on others... And if you are not capable, leave. Allow society to manage itself before it is too late."
A campaign in the midst of collapse
The accusations against El Toque come at a critical moment, where soaring inflation, blackouts, scarcity, and a plummeting national peso have been compounded by the devastating passage of Hurricane Melissa through the eastern part of the country.
However, instead of taking responsibility for the crisis, the regime has sought to focus the outrage on a media outlet that merely publishes the rate of the informal market, used daily by millions of Cubans to navigate the lack of a reliable official reference.
De Miranda's response, widely shared on social media, articulates a sentiment that has become common among Cubans both inside and outside the island, where no one believes in the imported culprits, the unfounded conspiracies, or the propaganda that seeks to cover up decades of economic mistakes.
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