Miguel Díaz-Canel pronounced one of the most striking phrases of his term this Thursday before the Extraordinary Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba: “There is no sovereignty with an empty plate”.
With that statement, the leader elevated the food supply for the Cuban people to the status of a national security issue during the closing of a session that approved 176 proposals organized into 23 axes of economic and social transformation.
The assembly held a session in the Palace of the Revolution with the participation of Raúl Castro via videoconference.
Castro signed the document with the proposals and warned, according to the state media Cubadebate, that “as important as the approval of these transformations is their proper and timely implementation.”
This Thursday, the National Assembly was convened for an extraordinary session to formalize the reforms approved by the PCC.
Food, at the center of the discourse
The food sector took center stage in Díaz-Canel's intervention, as he candidly acknowledged the seriousness of the situation.
“The food of the Cuban people will be treated as what it is: a matter of national security,” he stated; and added that “idle lands in Cuba must be put to use.”
The leader directly linked the energy crisis with the food crisis.
"The blackout is the child who couldn't study for the test, the food that spoiled in the refrigerator, the elderly person who spends the night awake without rest and in the heat," he said, in one of the most striking images of his speech.
The leader was explicit about the fate of unproductive fields:
"Every piece of land that is covered with marabou, when it should be producing food, must have a clear response: either it starts being productive or it is handed over to someone who is willing to do so."
He announced the expansion of land distribution in usufruct to producers, cooperatives, small and medium enterprises, and associative forms, and acknowledged a historical debt to the farming community.
"The Cuban farmer cannot be asked for more food with fewer tools and prices below their costs," he asserted.
Those who commit to verifiable agricultural results will be able to directly import seeds, fertilizers, parts, and equipment, and will have access to foreign currency.
“When the Cuban countryside becomes a path of prosperity for those who cultivate it, the country will be stronger, fairer, and more sovereign,” he promised.
Basic basket, dining halls, and retirees
In terms of social protection, the regime announced that the basic basket will be guaranteed for retirees, families with chronically ill children, and vulnerable individuals. It also promised the sponsorship of social dining facilities and homes for the elderly by the business sector, with subsidized spaces and cost prices.
The promise arrives at a critical moment.
The dining facilities of the Family Care System are facing an ordeal: the SAF 0204 Villanueva, in Boyeros, has been cooking with firewood for five months due to a lack of gas, serving 129 elderly diners for whom this meal is often the only hot food of the day. And this is just one example of a reality that spans the entire country.
Díaz-Canel also criticized the price cap policy imposed by the regime itself.
"Price controls, in practice, did not succeed in containing inflation; rather, they often led to the disappearance of products, a shift towards illegality, higher prices, and lower tax revenues," he admitted.
A crisis that allows for no further rhetoric
The numbers behind the speech are devastating.
The Food Monitor Program reported in 2026 that 96.91% of the Cuban population lacks adequate access to food, and that 33.9% of households had at least one member who went to bed hungry in the last 30 days.
Cuba produces only 80,000 tons of rice per year when it needs 600,000, and it imports between 70% and 80% of the food it consumes.
The minimum pension is 4,000 Cuban pesos -less than 10 dollars in the informal market- compared to an estimated basic basket of 12,000 pesos per person per month.
Days before the session, critical voices had already demanded concrete answers.
The intellectual Alina Bárbara López Hernández warned that "there are people dying of starvation" and that "it is about the right to continue living, which right now is not guaranteed for everyone in Cuba."
The actor Luis Alberto García demanded that the leaders suffer "just like those from below," and the broadcaster Laritza Camacho summarized the popular demand in three words: "Fill the pots."
The PCC gave the green light to the transformations, but the citizen response has been one of widespread skepticism towards promises that 67 years of communist dictatorship have failed to turn into food on the table.
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