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The Cuban regime reviewed once again this week the implementation of its "Economic and Social Government Program for the year 2026" during a session of the State Council marked by the energy crisis, fuel shortages, and the country's economic decline.
In the meeting, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the President of the State Council, Esteban Lazo, and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, the authorities assessed the progress of the aforementioned government plan in a context that the official PCC newspaper describes as “challenging,” in line with the usual euphemisms of the Cuban political leadership.
According to Marrero, the program has been updated following a public consultation process and now includes 10 general objectives, 111 specific objectives, 505 actions, and 309 indicators.
In popular memory, however, many similar figures remain—plans, agreements, guidelines, measures aimed at updating, correcting errors, reorganizing, and a host of other verbs directed at the economy in general or specific sectors such as agriculture—without any noticeable results other than a deepening of poverty and inequality in the country.
The official emphasis during this meeting was on territorial development, with the intention of boosting the economy from municipalities and provinces through a network of local actors and the use of science and innovation, another of the slogans of President Díaz Canel’s administration since he took office in 2018.
In this context, the government highlighted the implementation of new regulatory provisions, including decrees aimed at decentralizing competencies and strategically managing local development.
During the session, the launch of the movement "My Neighborhood for the Homeland" was also approved, conceived as a community mobilization initiative to support the state's priorities in areas such as security, participation, and local production. Authorities emphasized its importance in sustaining the goals of the economic program in the current context.
It is not surprising that the work of "Mi Barrio..." aligns, as has been customary in the Cuban regime, with the surveillance, control, and neighborhood repression of opinions, initiatives, and any expression of dissent against government policies. The historic Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) have been providing evidence of this for decades.
This new reformist drive occurs in the context of significant economic deterioration. Projections cited by the Cuban economist Mauricio de Miranda Parrondo estimate that the gross domestic product could contract by 7.2% in 2026, following a 5% decline in 2025, which would amount to a total contraction of 23% since 2019.
De Miranda has warned that the economic reforms promoted by the government lack viability without prior political transformations and has pointed out that the current model could lead to a concentration of resources among elites connected to power. He also questioned recent measures for maintaining high levels of state discretion and warned about risks of corruption.
Cuba is ranked as the least free economy in America and one of the lowest rated in the world, according to the 2026 Economic Freedom Index, which highlights serious institutional weaknesses, restrictions on investment, and a dominant state control over productive activity.
Internally, even voices aligned with the system have acknowledged obstacles in the execution of policies. Deputy Carlos Miguel Pérez Reyes recently warned that the main issue is not the design of reforms, but rather their implementation, which is hindered by staff shortages, institutional weaknesses, and the ongoing energy crisis.
In this scenario, the government insists on moving forward, checking and rechecking its economic program, which this time promises to lift the economy out of its pit. The dire national reality continuously undermines this promise.
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