Amid the severe crisis affecting Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel placed the responsibility on local governments to provide a "betterment" for the population this Wednesday, demanding visible results during a visit to the Havana municipalities of Regla and Guanabacoa.
The president promised local governments unprecedented autonomy: "You will have complete autonomy to manage exports, imports, foreign investments in the municipality, and investments from Cubans living abroad."
"The social responsibility of all economic actors must immediately provide us with levels of production and service that enhance the supply to the population and improve the purchasing power relationship, that is, the relationship between prices and wages," he noted.
The speech reveals a clear strategy: to delegate the task of achieving tangible improvements to the municipalities while the central government fails to address structural issues.
In parallel, Díaz-Canel demanded that the Havana authorities "put capable people" in charge of the territories, and Morales Ojeda acknowledged reports of corruption in the sector.
The unpopular leader was accompanied by Roberto Morales Ojeda, a member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, along with the highest provincial authorities. The tour of the 15 municipalities of the capital began on June 30 and is still ongoing.
The background of these tours was revealed on July 17, when a slide accidentally projected by Canal Caribe disclosed that visits to the Defense Councils are part of a plan for "actions to prevent a social outbreak", framed within Directive No. 2 of the National Defense Council.
Social pressure is real: the Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,311 protests in May 2026 and 107 in June, with the electricity crisis being the main trigger.
Cuba has experienced five nationwide blackouts so far this year; the one on July 6th left around 9.6 million people without electricity.
The 176 economic reforms approved in June include raising the minimum wage from 2,100 to 3,210 pesos, authorizing private banks and currency exchange houses, and eliminating the universal ration book.
However, none of those measures have yet alleviated the energy crisis or the deterioration of the purchasing power of Cubans.
Díaz-Canel still has two municipalities in Havana to visit before concluding the round, during which the territories will be primarily responsible for demonstrating that the reforms are effective.
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