Miguel Díaz-Canel delivered one of the most unusual statements of his term on Wednesday during the Extraordinary Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba: “There are obstacles that do not come from outside or from the blockade. There is slowness, bureaucracy, regulations that hinder those who want to produce, and decisions that we have postponed,” the leader said at the closing of the meeting held at the Palace of the Revolution.
The leader acknowledged that "today, resistance alone is not enough," and that it is necessary to launch an "emergency" economic and social agenda, with decisions that cannot be postponed any longer.
"Some may not have absolute consensus, but they are indispensable. And all will have a person accountable with a name and surname, a defined deadline, an indicator to measure their compliance, and a public accountability before the country," he emphasized.
The statement represents an unprecedented self-criticism in the official discourse of the regime, which for decades has almost exclusively attributed the problems of the Island to the American embargo.
However, Díaz-Canel could not help but dedicate most of his speech to blaming the embargo, the executive orders of the Trump administration from January 29 and May 1, 2026, and Cuba's inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
However, he had to acknowledge that the measures now being announced are not new: "These are not new ideas; they are decisions that the country discussed and approved years ago. The mistake was not in proposing them, but in having postponed them. And that period of postponement must come to an end."
The plenary approved a package of economic and social transformations presented by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, which includes greater openness to national and foreign private capital, banking modernization, partial dollarization, territorial decentralization, and the reduction of ministries from 27 to between 20 and 21.
The reforms also include provisions for municipalities to import, export, and manage foreign currency without intermediaries, and for Cubans living abroad to invest on equal terms with other economic actors.
Raúl Castro participated in the meeting via videoconference and signed the proposal document, which the regime presented as a sign of political legitimacy. His message, read before the delegates, warned that "as important as the approval of these transformations is their proper and timely implementation."
The process was remarkably accelerated: Díaz-Canel announced the reforms on June 12, just five days before the plenary session, and on June 13, an unprecedented advisory group of five economists met for the first time, three of whom were critics of the regime: Omar Everleny, Juan Triana, and Julio Carranza.
This Thursday, the National Assembly - which unanimously ratifies the proposals it receives - is holding an extraordinary session to formalize the measures approved by the Communist Party.
The reforms arrive at the worst economic moment for Cuba in decades. According to projections from CEPAL in April 2026, Cuba's GDP will decline by 6.5% this year, marking the worst contraction in Latin America, with a cumulative loss of nearly 26% since 2020.
This is compounded by blackouts exceeding 20 hours daily in some provinces, a sugar harvest below 150,000 tons—the lowest level in over a century—and emigration that surpassed 250,000 Cubans in 2024.
While the assembly was in session, there were reports of pot-banging protests in Santiago de Cuba, Santa Clara, and several neighborhoods in Havana, with residents shouting "Down with the dictatorship" in El Cotorro.
The citizens' reaction on social media was one of widespread skepticism. The economist Pedro Monreal described the measures as "late pragmatism" and warned that Cuba has "missed the train of the reforms of China and Vietnam."
The analyst Carlos Saladrigas was even more direct: "time has run out for the country", he stated on June 16, pointing out that the announced measures are insufficient given the magnitude of the crisis.
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