Miguel Díaz-Canel announced on Friday a package of economic reforms as part of the so-called Economic and Social Program for 2026 and issued an invitation that quickly became the target of public sarcasm: "Anyone with a better idea should share it".
The call for debate came with a built-in trap: the leader himself clarified that the measures have already been agreed upon and are ready to be approved "in a very swift manner" by the Political Bureau and the National Assembly, scheduled for July.
To complete the picture, Díaz-Canel justified the opacity of the process with another phrase that did not go unnoticed: "Not everything can be stated so clearly because the enemy is watching everything we do."
The announced reforms include greater autonomy for municipalities—allowing them to import and export without intermediaries, manage foreign currencies, and attract foreign investment—more freedom for state-owned enterprises, opening up investment opportunities for Cubans abroad, unblocking paralyzed MIPYMES, and replacing universal subsidies with targeted subsidies.
The designated ruler also acknowledged that "in the last five months, only one oil ship has arrived in Cuba," while blackouts have reached up to 30 hours a day in some provinces.
The response from Cubans on social media was immediate and overwhelming.
On Facebook of CiberCuba, hundreds of comments flooded the post with a single "better idea" that was echoed almost unanimously: that Díaz-Canel, the Communist Party of Cuba, and the Castro family relinquish power.
"Everyone can come up with better ideas than you. It’s just that you’re not going to like them," wrote one user. Others chose humor: "My two-year-old manages the country better," "He's run out of ideas," "I have a suggestion, go to South Africa."
No one missed pointing out the central contradiction of the announcement: "The same old story: they ask for proposals from the public and immediately say that the measures are already ready for approval."
Several users pointed to fear as the real obstacle to debate: "I won't fall into that trap; those who voice their ideas are later accused of vandalism," wrote one. "If we say them, we disappear," added another. One comment was even more direct: "Those who have expressed their ideas are in prison, like William Sosa."
Some expressed exhaustion rather than irony: "We don't even have ideas anymore, the stress from power outages, the lack of water, the inability to sleep, doesn't even allow us to think."
A user summarized the historical frustration accurately: “It takes me back to 2007, the same words from Raúl. Oh my God, we are poor, not idiots”.
The statement is supported by documentation. The same measures now announced —business autonomy, decentralization of foreign trade, new economic actors— were already approved in the Guidelines of the VI Congress of the PCC in 2011.
In 2016, the official report acknowledged that only 21% had been implemented. In 2021, the regime itself admitted that its Implementation Commission "failed to adequately organize the participation of the involved stakeholders."
The economist Pedro Monreal described the reforms as "late pragmatism" and warned that without deeper structural changes, it will be difficult to resolve the crisis, in a context where Cuba's GDP has fallen by more than 23% since 2019.
“After more than 60 years without hearing from us? Thank you, we will save our ideas for the next government”, concluded a user, with the phrase that best summarizes the mood of a population that no longer believes in promises, yet has not lost its ingenuity to express it.
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