The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged this Thursday the severe economic crisis facing the country — marked by inflation, power outages, and food shortages — although he once again blamed the "imperialist blockade" and the U.S. embargo for the deterioration of the national situation.
During the closing of the Sixth Regular Session of the National Assembly of People's Power , in its X Legislature, Díaz-Canel stated that “no one in Cuba needs to be told that the economy is under strain: it is felt in the queues, in our pockets, in the blackouts, in the transportation that doesn’t arrive, and in the rising cost of food.”
The president also admitted that the country has been experiencing "years of decline in gross domestic product, high inflation, shortages, an energy crisis, and falling external income," and assured that "the magnitude of the crisis is recognized; reality is not sugarcoated."
However, he attributed the worsening of the crisis to the external context. In his speech, he accused the United States of maintaining an "unceasing economic aggression" and of "promoting inflation and substantially depressing the purchasing power of the population." He stated, "a country whose finances are ruthlessly pursued is obliged to manage its foreign currency income with maximum efficiency."
The leader noted that the Government Program to Correct Distortions and Reinvigorate the Economy must become “the mandatory roadmap for all organizations, companies, and territories.” Among the main challenges, he mentioned “reducing energy vulnerability, recovering productive capacities, and keeping the fiscal deficit and inflation in check.”
He also called for greater accountability: "As long as we do not do that, and remain focused on the analysis of descriptive and diagnostic reports that ultimately result in useless autopsies, we will not resolve anything or change the current situation," he warned before Parliament.
Although he spoke of "own mistakes" and the need for "structural transformations and a change in mentality," Díaz-Canel once again framed the main causes in external factors. "No one has written how socialism is built in a country that emerged to its true independence after more than four centuries of colonial rule and 60 years of neocolonial subordination... That history is being written by us, the Cubans!" he stated.
During the session, Díaz-Canel also proposed declaring 2026 as the "Year of the Centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz", a proposal that was supported by the deputies. On social media, the Presidency of Cuba quoted the president: "May every task we undertake in 2026, from the most complex economic transformations to the simplest acts of solidarity, carry the Fidelista spirit of struggle."
The event was attended by Raúl Castro and the President of the Parliament, Esteban Lazo Hernández, according to images shared in a video published by Cubadebate.
The speech takes place just a week after Díaz-Canel acknowledged, during the XI Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba , that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had decreased by more than 4% by the end of the third quarter of 2025, with "soaring inflation, shortages, and critical thermal generation."
Despite the public acknowledgments, the measures announced so far have not shown visible results in the daily lives of Cubans, which are characterized by blackouts, food shortages, and the constant rise in prices. Meanwhile, the Cuban population continues to face rampant inflation and unprecedented precariousness.
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