Luis Alberto Ramírez Katungo posted on Facebook a text titled "The Utopia That Never Existed," in which he dismantles with irony and philosophical analysis the metaphor that Miguel Díaz-Canel used on Monday to respond to whether Cuba can overcome the crisis.
The trigger was an interview that Díaz-Canel gave to the Russian channel RT en Español, where, in response to a question about the future of the country, he resorted to a poetic image instead of providing a concrete plan: "The utopia is on the horizon. When we walk two steps, the utopia retreats two steps. And the horizon advances ten steps. What is the purpose of utopia? To walk. I would say hope is the same." The phrase paraphrases a quote from Argentine filmmaker Fernando Birri, popularized by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano in his book El libro de los abrazos (1989).
Katungo quickly pointed out the underlying contradiction: "In my opinion, this is one of the most absurd statements I have heard in a long time, because apparently the person making it does not understand the meaning of the word utopia."
In his reflection, he recalls that the term comes from Greek and means "no place" or "the place that does not exist," and that both utopia and horizon share an essential characteristic: neither can be reached. That is, precisely, the essence of the metaphor, not a philosophical revelation.
"Paradoxically, with that phrase he seems to admit that the so-called Cuban Revolution is pursuing an impossible goal. If the revolution is a utopia, then it is like plowing the sea, trying to reach the sky without wings, or jumping into an abyss hoping that gravity will cease to exist," wrote Katungo.
The post adds to a wave of critical reactions that the phrase sparked on social media, where thousands of Cubans responded with indignation and sarcasm.
The historian and activist Alina Bárbara López Hernández, who has been under house arrest since June 2024, also harshly reacted to the leader's words: "A political leader who wants to be respected must earn it. Respect is not demanded; it is earned. No one like the Cuban president to utter nonsense in a grandiose tone."
The context in which Díaz-Canel used that metaphor intensifies the contrast between rhetoric and reality. In the same interview with RT, he acknowledged that no fuel ship has arrived in Cuba for six months—except for one Russian vessel—that the country produces only 40,000 barrels daily compared to a need of between 90,000 and 110,000, and that the Venezuelan supply collapsed after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026.
In addition, 96.91% of the population lacked adequate access to food as of May 2026, according to the Food Monitor Program, and the minimum wage in Cuba is equivalent to less than five dollars a month on the informal exchange rate, while the economy has experienced a decline of over 15% since 2020.
Katungo closed his text with a straightforward statement: "The Cuban regime seeks the golden chimera, but all it has found —and continues to find— is poverty, desolation, and sadness."
Related videos:
Filed under: