The Spanish communicator Marc Vidal published a video on Instagram addressed to Cubans in which he provides an analysis of the crisis on the island and sends them a message of encouragement and warning that concludes with a resounding 'Long Live Free Cuba'.
Vidal, an economic analyst featured in the Top 100 Thought Leaders in the World in 2024 and a regular contributor to COPE, Atresmedia, Bloomberg, and CNN, frames the Cuban crisis as a manifestation of a recurring historical pattern.
"Cuba is not an exotic anomaly of the Caribbean; it is a concrete manifestation of a historical pattern that arises when there is a extreme concentration of political power, the elimination of productive private property, central planning, repression of civil society, and dependency on external rents," stated the Catalan.
Vidal precisely describes the sequence that, according to him, always accompanies these models: "Historical promise, concentration of power, destruction of incentives, statistical manipulation, external subsidy, and finally exhaustion."
Upon reaching that critical point, the system "does not tolerate any failures, seeks external culprits, invokes sieges, demands sacrifices, and continues to evade the central diagnosis."
Vidal went straight to dismantling the regime's arguments
"Scarcity is not dignity, the blackout is not sovereignty, and massive migration is not a historic victory," he stated. "When a model requires external subsidies, internal repression, and the money of those who fled to continue surviving, that model has already diagnosed itself," he said.
In his words to the Cubans, he made a distinction between the system of government and the people. He highlighted the resilience of Cubans who invent solutions, send remittances to their families, and start small businesses despite regulatory uncertainty.
He noted that by 2025, around 10,000 micro, small, and medium-sized private enterprises (mipymes) already accounted for 15% of Cuba's GDP and employed over 30% of the active labor force.
"That was not designed by any ministry; it was built by the people, the Cubans, when they were given a little bit of space," he emphasized.
Regarding the future of Cuba, Vidal was quite optimistic. He sees opportunities in the hands of entrepreneurs, of the private businessperson capable of advancing a business, despite the uncertainty in the state's regulations.
"The tension between the paralyzing control and the private initiative that seeks out opportunities is likely what will define the coming years in Cuba. This is not about predicting outcomes or offering solutions from the outside. We do not know what will happen, but we must honestly examine what the evidence shows," he said, inviting Cubans to recognize that the regime's economic model has come to an end.
This is the second time that Vidal has spoken about Cuba in just a few weeks. On February 16, he published an analysis on the possible collapse of the regime, highlighting the massive power outages, fuel shortages, and unprecedented exodus.
Some analysts share a more radical diagnosis and warn that Cuba could become a failed state by 2026, while others caution that without political change, there is no viable economic reform.
Vidal closed his video with an encouraging message for the Cubans. "We ask that you take control of your lives, and with all our hearts, we wish you all the best. Times are coming when you will have to fight. ¡Long live a Free Cuba!"
Filed under: