Related videos:
The popular Cuban actor and comedian Luis Silva, creator of the character Pánfilo, launched a strong critique of the regime on his social media this Thursday following the announcement of a package of economic reforms by the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Through a story on his verified accounts, Silva reacted to the news that Díaz-Canel admitted to mistakes and promised to "undo prohibitions" to improve the island's economy, describing the situation as "incredible and amusing."
"Incredible and funny that for years, every time they plan to make so-called changes, they have to REMOVE PROHIBITIONS," the comedian wrote on a pink background, before finishing with a statement in capital letters on a red background: "YOU HAVE BEEN THE TRUE BRAKE TO THE PROSPERITY OF CUBANS!"
Silva's central argument directly addresses decades of self-imposed restrictions by the regime itself: "If since the 1990s they had allowed people to thrive and grow without limits, obstacles, or prohibitions, today the people would live better," he noted.
The publication came after Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz presented to the National Assembly a package of 176 economic measures, described by the government itself as the largest attempt at structural reform since the Special Period of the 1990s.
Among the announced measures are the opening up to private banking, the buying and selling of shares in state-owned companies, partial dollarization, greater autonomy for small and medium-sized private enterprises, the removal of price caps, and expanded access to foreign investment, organized into 23 fundamental axes.
Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged before the deputies that “there are obstacles that do not come from outside or from the embargo”, admitting that part of the crisis has internal origins, and added that “the mistake was not in bringing them up, but in having delayed them,” referring to reforms that have been discussed for years without being implemented.
That admission precisely reinforces the argument that Silva has been making for years on his social media, where he has amassed over 2.6 million followers on Facebook and generates tens of thousands of interactions with each post.
It is not the first time that the comedian has confronted the regime with this type of accusations. In March 2021, he denounced the "internal blockade" generated by Cuba's own regulations, pointing to the Cuban Customs as the true obstacle for citizens. In August 2022, he demanded a total economic opening from the government, urging them to "just open the tap completely" instead of doing it "little by little." In October 2024, he called for resignations from those responsible for the energy crisis following a nationwide blackout on the island.
The backdrop of this new criticism is a Cuba in free fall: CEPAL projects a contraction of the GDP of -6.5% for 2026, while The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates -7.2% and economist Pedro Monreal warns of a scenario of up to -15%. The country is experiencing blackouts of between 20 and 25 hours daily in various areas, with generation deficits exceeding 2,000 megawatts, in addition to a widespread scarcity of food and medicine.
In this context, analysts warn that the 176 measures could replicate the Soviet privatization model of the 1990s, benefiting the ruling elite with privileged information instead of the Cuban people.
Filed under: