The Cuban comedian and actor Ulises Toirac published one of his most pointed reflections on the crisis in Cuba this Saturday on Facebook, declaring that the situation has ceased to be a problem with a visible solution: "It's no longer the light at the end of the tunnel... It's that there is no tunnel".
The trigger was the interview that Miguel Díaz-Canel gave to the Russian state media RT en Español on July 20, in which the leader, in response to the question of whether Cuba can overcome the crisis, referred to a philosophical quote popularized by Eduardo Galeano: "Utopia is on the horizon. When we walk two steps, utopia retreats two steps... What is the purpose of utopia? To walk." Toirac described that response as “doubly incorrect”.
For the humorist, the mistake was not just philosophical but also diagnostic: the wrong question was "Will we get out of this?", when the one that matters is "When?".
"The question should have been 'When will we get out of this situation?'. Because if the answer is 'A year', just forget it, considering that in a year the situation will only continue to deteriorate. The current scenario—although they may not perceive it partly due to their way of living and partly because they've cut off any form of realistic feedback—is horrific. No exaggerations," wrote Toirac.
To illustrate his point, the screenwriter used an electrical analogy—especially relevant in a country experiencing blackouts of up to 20 hours a day: "An electrical device may draw 2kw of power at a given moment. However, time is crucial. Its consumption is determined by the amount it uses over a certain period. A rainstorm can be very intense for half a minute and not cause any flooding. When it lasts, though, and stretches to an hour, it's time to dive in!"
The logic is straightforward: the indefinite prolongation of the crisis turns it into an irreversible catastrophe, and the government fails to recognize this because its leaders are shielded from the reality experienced by the people.
This post is the latest in a series of critical statements from Toirac throughout 2026. On July 23, he had already mocked Díaz-Canel's metaphor with a parody: "If I keep eating crap, I won't reach the utopian house where an attainable blackout dog is waiting for me. One step forward and one step back..."
On July 12, he had described living in Cuba during the blackouts as a "nightmare" and pointed out that the situation "has no end" because "there are no solutions." In June, he stated that "Cuba is in a labyrinth with no solution" and that he does not see a way out "within my lifetime," at the age of 62.
The reaction to Díaz-Canel's metaphor of utopia was widespread on social media: in addition to Toirac, figures such as La Crema and Luis Alberto García responded with sarcasm on July 22 and 23, in what became a wave of criticism following the president's interview.
The final sentence of Toirac's post points to a consequence that the regime itself seems to ignore: "In what they do—placing a faith that I no longer believe is the intention—there will be no one to shed light at the end," a direct allusion to the massive emigration which, as estimated by the humorist himself in April, has already taken 1.25 million Cubans between 2021 and 2024.
Related videos:
Filed under: