Miguel Díaz-Canel sparked a wave of criticism on social media after posting a message in which he urged members of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) to "take the lead in solving the country's problems."
“We resumed meetings with the party members at the provincial plenary sessions, with the aim of exchanging views on the country's priorities and the role our organization has in its leadership. It is up to the members to be at the forefront in solving the problems.”, wrote the leader on X alongside an image of the PCC.
The message, shared on January 22, received a strong civic response. Within a few hours, hundreds of users reacted with direct criticisms of the government and Díaz-Canel himself, highlighting the disconnect between the official discourse and the reality of the country.
"The problems of Cuba are you, the communists; simply abandoning power would resolve the issues," wrote a user, summarizing the overall tone of the responses.
Others questioned the lack of self-criticism and the regime's insistence on maintaining the same political model despite decades of crisis. "The needs of that country... democracy and food," noted another comment.
Some messages mocked the president's call: “How do they waste time and resources on that old speech?” reads one of the responses, while another sarcastically noted: “Retake? They never stopped meeting to lie to each other.”
Several Cubans expressed their frustration stemming from the scarcity, power outages, and lack of freedoms: “What they should do is all leave now. Let Cuba be,” wrote one user. Another insisted: “Address hunger, housing, health, and freedom. That’s a job for others, not for you.”
Amid the wave of criticism, messages of exile and warnings about the wear and tear of power were also echoed. “Your time is limited. It’s time to escape from Cuba while you can,” said an internet user.
The reactions reflect a social atmosphere marked by disillusionment and distrust towards the Communist Party, which continues to be presented by the government as the central axis of the "leadership of the country." However, for many Cubans, this political structure is seen as an essential part of the problems affecting the island.
The leader's words add to a series of recent statements in which he has emphasized that the Party's members must take greater responsibility for the national decline. During the extraordinary plenums of the PCC in Pinar del Río and Artemisa, Díaz-Canel called for a "change from within the Party" and asserted that the members must feel responsible "for everything that is going wrong."
A day later, at the PCC plenums in Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo, the leader acknowledged the lack of unity within the Party and stated that it cannot be “formal or uncritical.” “We will build unity by having strong discussions among ourselves, but moving forward together,” he said at that time, defending the need for internal debates, even though the Government continues to repress open criticism in practice.
Subsequently, in meetings in Granma and Holguín, Díaz-Canel reiterated the call to “change the import mentality” and to produce more domestically, while acknowledging serious shortcomings in agriculture and the food industry. However, his messages have been met with skepticism from a population that does not see tangible improvements in their daily lives.
The context does not favor the official discourse: Cuba is experiencing one of the most serious economic crises in decades, with skyrocketing inflation, chronic shortages, constant blackouts, and an unprecedented wave of migration. In this scenario, Díaz-Canel's repeated call to the party members as the “vanguard” of the solution contrasts sharply with the popular perception that the Party is, in fact, the core of the problem.
While the regime insists that the "militancy" must lead the way out of the crisis, a considerable portion of the populace perceives that the causes of the collapse are the same political and economic structures that Díaz-Canel himself defends.
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