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The Cuban citizen Elizabeth González Aznar posted on Facebook an open letter addressed to the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel, in which she poses a question that encapsulates the frustrations of millions: why should the Cuban people trust him and his government?
The text arises days after the announcement of the 176 economic measures approved by the National Assembly on June 18, 2026, the largest package of reforms since the Special Period of the 90s, which provokes a response of skepticism and pain from González Aznar.
"Trust is earned, Mr. President. Attitudes such as responsibility, loyalty, and consistency strengthen trust, while lies, betrayals, and erratic or unpredictable behaviors weaken it," the author writes.
For González, trust cannot be requested without results, and the results of eight years of governance speak for themselves: "The people's lives have been declining to the point that today we do not live; today we survive, or rather, we endure."
His diagnosis is direct and straightforward: "Today, after eight years, we do not have guaranteed basic services: electricity, water, gas, transportation, food, and health."
This is compounded by the fact that food and medicine are obtained on the street at prices that salaries cannot cover, while the regime has consolidated an elite that lives in a different reality: "We have arrived at a Cuba more divided than ever before, with an elite that enjoys great benefits. An elite that you yourselves have strengthened with your measures, and today they live alongside the people but in a different dimension, in the other Cuba that exists."
In light of the new reform package, the author asks what many Cubans are wondering in silence: “Now, with 176 measures, will everything be improved? Why, Mr. President? Why should we believe that this time it will be different? Why have faith? Who assures us that it won’t be like the thousands of laws, measures, and programs implemented over these past eight years, many of which have failed?”
One of the most striking points in the text highlights the total lack of self-criticism from the government: "It is hard to believe, President, that after eight years of the same, without any structural changes in your administration, you will now achieve a change."
González recalls that during all this time, Díaz-Canel has never acknowledged any responsibility for the crisis, and that in his interviews he has attributed the suffering of the people solely to the United States embargo, "aspects that are real, but that existed long before his government, so they are not new during his term."
The author also refers to the controversial statement made by the leader about "beating pots," in which he suggested that Cubans direct their protests against Washington: "This saddens me because it is a death sentence for the Cuban people, as it does not depend on us to remove them, even if we were to beat pots against them, as he advised us to do. So as long as they remain, our lives are condemned."
It is a reference that resonates with particular severity: in October 2025, six people in Manicaragua were sentenced to up to six years in prison precisely for playing pots during the blackouts.
González is a recurring critical voice that has questioned the regime on multiple occasions, from blackouts lasting up to 20 hours to the fuel expenditure on political events honoring Raúl Castro.
Her letter closes with a phrase that allows no room for interpretation: “You forgive me, but time has passed and with it our lives have been worsening for eight years, and that’s not fair. So why should we trust?”
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