Related videos:
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 popular sarcasm: “Anyone with a better idea, should share it”.
The call for the debate came with an embedded trap: the leader himself clarified that the measures are already agreed upon and 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: “We cannot say everything 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 currency, 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 appointed ruler also acknowledged that "in the last five months only one tanker of oil has arrived in Cuba," while power outages reach up to 30 hours a day in some provinces.
The response from Cubans on social media was swift and overwhelming.
On Facebook of CiberCuba, hundreds of comments flooded the post with a single "better idea" that was nearly unanimous: that Díaz-Canel, the Communist Party of Cuba, and the Castro family relinquish power.
"Anyone can come up with ideas better than you. It's just that you won't like them," wrote a user. Others opted for humor: "My two-year-old runs the country better," "He’s out of ideas," "I have an idea, go to South Africa."
There were those who pointed 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 true brake on debate: "I won't fall into that trap; whoever expresses their ideas is later accused of vandalism," wrote one. "If we say what we think, they'll make us disappear," added another. One comment was even more direct: "Those who have voiced their ideas are in prison, like William Sosa."
Some expressed exhaustion rather than irony: "We don't even have ideas anymore, the stress from the lack of electricity, not having water, not sleeping, 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 parties."
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 the Cuban GDP has experienced a decline of over 23% since 2019.
“After more than 60 years without hearing from us? Thank you, we will save the ideas for the next government”, concluded a user, with the phrase that best encapsulates the mood of a population that no longer believes in promises, yet has not lost its ingenuity in expressing it.
Filed under: