Amelia Calzadilla, president of the Classic Cuban Liberal Party (PLCC) warns that the economic reforms announced by the regime of Díaz-Canel are not a genuine opening, but rather a maneuver for the communist 'nomenklatura' to publicly declare itself the owner of the national wealth, which she claims has been under its control for decades.
In an interview with Tania Costa on CiberCuba, Calzadilla drew a direct parallel with the Soviet process. "I feel that they are indeed attempting a Perestroika. I believe they are seeking a change for the Russians."
The activist argues that the opening up of private property included in the package of 176 measures approved on June 12 will not benefit the average citizen, but rather those who have managed the country at their whim.
"I feel that they are going to try to impose the 'nomenklatura' of the names of all the companies, of all those owners to whom they have handed over our heritage."
This reading aligns with that of economist Mauricio de Miranda Parrondo, who warned in CiberCuba that the 176 measures represent the first step towards a "patrimonial authoritarian capitalism" that replicates the post-Soviet Russian model, where elites close to power appropriated state assets without transparency or equal opportunities.
For Calzadilla, the most striking contradiction in the official discourse is that the regime simultaneously upholds private property and communism. "What seems completely anachronistic is that in the same context where they tell you there will be an economic opening, a recognition of private property—contrary to the laws of socialism, by the way—they are the ones who say: no, no, wait, we are still going to continue building socialism, we are still going to continue building communism."
That inconsistency, he argues, is in itself a confession of failure. “When you hear someone defend private property and five minutes later tell you: but I believe in communism and that the state enterprise is the most important actor in the economy… But if the state enterprise is destroyed, and this is the result of the state enterprise not being profitable, you have demonstrated that your economy is not productive.”
Calzadilla enumerates the evidence of the collapse of the model: rampant inflation, declining wages, lack of workforce, and the mass exodus that has emptied the country.
Between 2020 and 2024, Cuba lost approximately 24% of its population —around 1.79 million people— due to emigration, the largest historical exodus in the absence of war.
"The exodus that the country has experienced is the best evidence that you are incompetent, that this model does not generate development, nor does it promote growth," he pointed out.
In that regard, the activist concludes that the regime's own measures represent an implicit admission of ideological defeat, but that doesn’t make them a viable solution as long as those who promote them continue to deny the contradiction: "The measures are an acknowledgment of the incompetence of the socialist model, and right after that, you stubbornly claim that you will implement socialism. Even so, you say: you are not the right person to carry these measures out successfully, because you don’t even know what you’re talking about."
Calzadilla concluded the analysis with a warning about the dimension that, in his view, cannot be excluded from the debate. "There is the issue of impunity. They are human rights violators. We cannot let that go unaddressed."
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