The Cuban economic crisis forces the regime to yield to external pressures. The world is watching the slow unraveling of the oldest dictatorship in Latin America.
An analysis published by The Economist notes that the recent measures taken by the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel, such as allowing investments from Cubans abroad or authorizing private fuel imports, do not reflect a genuine strategy of openness, but rather are a response to pressure from the administration of Donald Trump.
These concessions come amidst a scenario marked by the tightening of sanctions, interruptions in oil supply from Venezuela and Mexico, as well as international isolation.
The lack of fuel, the collapse of production, and the decline in the value of the peso have left the island in a critical situation, where scarcity and blackouts are part of everyday life.
The energy crisis is paralyzing key sectors, and Miguel Díaz-Canel is increasingly unable to sustain the economic model inherited from Castroism.
For decades, the Cuban regime has relied on external allies to survive. First the Soviet Union, then Venezuela. Without that support, the structural failure of its model is laid bare.
The drop in production, the collapse of exports, and state inefficiency have left an economy on the brink of collapse, where salaries barely cover basic needs.
Meanwhile, the ruling elite, connected to the military conglomerate GAESA, maintains control over the most profitable sectors without taking responsibility for the crisis.
The pressure from the United States aims to force changes, but the regime resists and uses the people as hostages. The situation highlights that the system can no longer sustain itself.
However, the rulers refuse to relinquish power and reinvent themselves with measures that do not improve the lives of ordinary Cubans, but help the political leaders buy time in conversations with the United States that seem to yield no results.
The result is clear: a weakened regime, an increasingly impoverished population, and an uncertain future for Cuba.
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