Miguel Díaz-Canel granted an exclusive interview to Russia Today (RT) this weekend as part of the V International Colloquium Homeland of Digital Communication, held in Havana, to present what he described as the "strategy" of the Cuban regime in response to the maximum pressure from the Trump administration.
The interview takes place as Cuba experiences a devastating energy crisis: power outages are increasingly affecting the population, with cuts in some areas exceeding 30 hours a day and a generation deficit greater than 2,000 MW.
Díaz-Canel outlined six pillars of his supposed strategy: economic decentralization, full autonomy for state enterprises and municipalities, improved relations between the state and non-state sectors, an update of the foreign direct investment law, energy transition, and encouragement of food production through agroecology.
Regarding the energy crisis, the leader stated that in 2025, over 1,000 megawatts were invested in photovoltaic parks. "Last year we made an investment of more than 1,000 megawatts in photovoltaic parks that are now supplying 51% of the energy during the daytime; if we hadn't had that, we would be in a more complex situation today," he declared.
In light of the fuel shortage, the leader turned to agroecology as a solution for food production. "You might say, what a contradiction, now you don't have fuel, now you have more limitations, but we have turned to agroecology," he said, implicitly acknowledging the energy blockade that the island is facing.
Díaz-Canel also announced a resizing of the state apparatus before mid-2026. "We are also considering a resizing of the entire state, administrative, and business apparatus, that is, reducing bureaucracy. We are looking for mechanisms and structures that are flatter and more efficient, more dynamic, which allow for a more dynamic government management," he stated.
The problem is that none of these agendas are new. The regime has been announcing the same promises since 2023 without verifiable results. The "Government Program" for 2025 and the previous ones contained nearly identical commitments, under the slogan of "correcting distortions and revitalizing the economy". The Center for the Studies of the Cuban Economy classified the model in April 2026 as "exhausted and lacking effective levers".
The data contradicts the official narrative: the Cuban economy contracted by 5% in 2025, resulting in over a 15% decline since 2020. External projections estimate an additional decline of 7.2% for 2026, compared to the 1% growth projected by the government itself.
The official inflation rate was 14.07% in 2025, with unofficial estimates placing the impact on the basic basket at up to 70%. The average salary is around 6,000 Cuban pesos per month, equivalent to about 13 dollars at the unofficial exchange rate.
The context that explains the urgency of the speech is compelling. The capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026 eliminated between 26,000 and 35,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil daily —80-90% of Cuban imports—. The Executive Order 14380, signed by Trump on January 29, imposed tariffs of up to 50% on supplying countries, forcing Mexico to suspend shipments.
The choice of RT as a platform is not coincidental. Díaz-Canel frequently uses that Russian propaganda channel to project narratives of resistance to sympathetic audiences, not to hold himself accountable to Cubans suffering from power outages.
In May 2025, he described the Russian military response in Ukraine as "dignified" in that same outlet. The digital propaganda event organized by the regime itself was held under the slogan "Homeland with Fidel," in tribute to the centenary of the birth of dictator Fidel Castro.
While Díaz-Canel repeats his promises of reform before the Russian cameras, the Cuban electrical system requires at least 6.612 million dollars to restore its generation capacity, a figure that the regime neither possesses nor has any prospect of obtaining.
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