Miguel Díaz-Canel announced a comprehensive package of economic reforms this Friday on the program Revista Buenos Días, and urged the Cuban population to trust the government.
«, the country is not at a standstill. The country is intelligently confronting this entire situation. We cannot disclose everything so clearly because the enemy is lurking in everything we do,» said the leader.
"The United States cannot forgive that, at this point, with all the maximum pressure they have exerted, the Revolution still exists and the country continues to function. Even they cannot believe the narrative they keep pushing about a failed state," Díaz-Canel added amid the collapse of all services in Cuba.
The triumphalist speech comes at the worst economic moment for the country, with daily blackouts lasting over 20 hours, shortages of water and fuel, and rampant inflation.
The reform package is structured around several key areas: foreign investment, energy, fiscal policy, tourism, domestic trade, and human capital.
Regarding investment, Díaz-Canel announced that Cubans residing abroad and those on the island will be able to participate "on equal terms" as economic actors alongside foreign companies, state enterprises, and cooperatives, within a "stable legal framework that ensures security for business."
Regarding the energy crisis, the leader promised to attract foreign companies to install photovoltaic systems throughout the country, promote electric mobility through both importation and assembly in Cuba, and eliminate restrictions on vehicle imports, prioritizing electric ones.
In fiscal policy, he suggested that the state budget should stop financing the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises and announced a resizing of the foreign exchange market with the participation of all economic players.
Díaz-Canel also promised to gradually eliminate subsidies for products and replace them with direct subsidies for individuals in vulnerable situations, a commitment that has been a recurring theme in recent years.
In tourism, he recognized that the major international hotel chains have left the country.
"We cannot only think about the big chains at this moment when many of them have withdrawn from the country due to pressure from the United States government."
For domestic trade, it announced the implementation of electronic invoicing and the progress towards digital platforms, with the aim of turning internal commerce into an incentive for national production.
It also mentioned measures to retain young professionals through salary incentives and new modalities for remote work and multiple employment, "so that these young people do not have to carry out the project abroad."
This announcement is part of a broader process of institutional reforms. Last Monday, the National Assembly presented a draft law to reduce the number of ministries from 27 to 20, merging portfolios such as Economy, Finance, and Planning.
Díaz-Canel admitted that the measures are not yet approved and that they will be discussed "in a very swift manner" in the coming days, but he warned that the lack of transparency is intentional.
"We can't say everything so clearly because the enemy is watching everything we do," he said, referring to the United States.
The Cuban population has shown widespread skepticism towards similar announcements that have not reversed the crisis. The reforms come as the Trump administration accumulates more than 240 new sanctions against the regime since January 2026, including Executive Order 14404 signed on May 1.
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