A video lasting just 14 seconds featuring Randy Alonso, the director of the program Mesa Redonda on Cuban Television and the official website Cubadebate, sparked a wave of mockery on social media after he posed a question that many Cubans deemed an obvious point discovered 67 years too late.
In the clip, published by the Buenos Días Informative Magazine on Facebook and which has garnered over 314,000 views and 1,876 comments, Alonso asks: "What good does it do us to have the best central, a strong industry? There it is, part of the country, but it is paralyzed, unable to produce. Is it better to keep it paralyzed or to let someone come and invest so that there can be production and results?"
The audience's response was immediate and overwhelming.
"Lenin, Marx, and Engels, come see your disciples, but take them with you," wrote a user in the comment that became the most celebrated of the video.
Others were not left behind in the mockery: “Look at that, what a profound analysis from Randy,” one user sarcastically commented. “How clever the chameleon is, drawing his conclusions,” added another. “Now the investors aren’t worms anymore?” asked a third, recalling the language the regime used for decades to attack those who defended private enterprise.
The metaphor of "lukewarm water" was echoed in hundreds of comments: "He discovered cold water in 2026 after 67 years of study," wrote one. "Wow, they discovered cold water," agreed another. "Eureka, discovering lukewarm water," concluded a third.
Several users pointed directly to the journalist's historical contradiction: “That’s called capitalism, Randy, it’s as simple as that,” noted one. “The longest road to capitalism is socialism,” another summarized with surgical precision. A commentator quoted Margaret Thatcher: “The greatest enemy of socialism is not capitalism, it is reality.”
The outrage also had an edge: “In 15 seconds, the failure of socialism explained,” wrote one. “You have to have the face of reinforced concrete to say that as fresh as a lettuce,” criticized another. “What good does it do us to have an aging, tired, and worn-out population, while you are as fresh as lettuce,” said a user.
Many recalled the so-called 'Tarea Álvaro Reinoso', the decision driven by Fidel Castro in 2002 that dismantled 120 of the 165 sugar mills operating in Cuba, described by economist Pedro Monreal as “the greatest blunder in industrial policy in the history of Cuba.”
"Does the Álvaro Reinoso Task from 2002 ring a bell? It took them 24 years to realize this? You all have no shame," wrote an internet user. Another added: "They preferred to close most sugar mills rather than offer them to private Cuban or foreign investors. Twenty-some years later, they discover that it's better to allow private management."
The video was published in the context of the 176 economic reform measures approved by the Cuban regime on June 19, which include opening up to foreign investment, authorizing private banking, and allowing the buying and selling of shares in state-owned enterprises, amid a crisis that CEPAL projects will result in an economic contraction of 6.5% in 2026.
The image of Alonso as a "chameleon" of the system permeated the entire comments section: "If the musicians change and the same director remains, the orchestra will sound the same, don't forget that," one warned. "What has more problems, the boiler of the Guiteras or Randy's face?" asked another with dark humor. "Deep as his potholes," concluded one user in just four words.
A comment encapsulated the general sentiment with bitter clarity: "When I was studying, I was told that capitalism was incompatible with socialism, and now they want capitalism to save what little remains of socialism, in other words, to save themselves, those in power."
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