Miguel Díaz-Canel asserted last Thursday, during the International Workers' Day march in Havana, that Cuba has already overcome the Special Period and that "people have confidence" despite the blackouts, food shortages, and lack of medications that are suffocating the population, according to an interview published by the Spanish media Público.
The Cuban leader led the march that started from the Plaza de la Revolución and concluded at the Anti-imperialist Tribune, in front of the U.S. embassy, in an event that the regime labeled as "historic" but that saw a significantly low turnout according to independent reports.
When asked whether the blackouts and shortages could undermine social support, Díaz-Canel responded: "Our processes have deteriorated, but the people have confidence because this is not the only difficult moment for the revolution. It overcame the Special Period, it overcame the early years of the revolution... And the country has always grown."
The statement contrasts with the reality faced by the Cuban people: 78-80% of Cubans believe that the current crisis is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s, according to the Food Monitor Program.
Unlike that period, Cuba today does not have an external ally capable of rescuing it: Venezuela lost that ability after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, which cut off the supply of between 25,000 and 30,000 barrels of oil daily, accounting for approximately two-thirds of Cuba's imports.
The result has been devastating. Blackouts affect more than 55% of the national territory, with outages lasting between 20 and 30 hours daily, and the electricity generation deficit exceeds 1,900 MW.
Since December 2025, an executive order from Donald Trump has blocked the shipment of fuel to the island, and Cuba operated for four consecutive months—from January to April 2026—without receiving any fuel, as confirmed by Díaz-Canel himself on April 23.
On the same day as the march, Trump signed a new executive order expanding sanctions against the energy, financial, mining, and defense sectors, and declared to his supporters in Florida: "We are going to take Cuba almost immediately."
Díaz-Canel warned about the imminence of a military aggression and invoked the doctrine of the War of All the People: "If we are attacked, there will be a fight here."
The leader also called for unity in response to external pressure: "Unity is key to resistance and victory," he stated, adding that "in that unity lies the source of victory."
The event was attended by Raúl Castro, in his first public appearance since December 2025, who presided over the official ceremony.
While the regime appeals to historical resistance, the Cuban economy has suffered a decline of 23% of GDP since 2019, with a projected additional contraction of 7.2% for 2026, and more than 600,000 Cubans have emigrated since 2022, a human exodus that no speech of unity has been able to halt.
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