Miguel Díaz-Canel took the opportunity in his speech on July 26 to deliver a direct message to Washington, insisting on the sovereignty of the Cuban regime in the face of pressure from the United States.
The economic, political, and social decisions are and will be ours, he stated in a declaration that seemed to respond to the repeated calls from the Trump administration for the regime to undertake structural reforms that would help pull the country out of its prolonged crisis.
The statement comes at a time of heightened tension between Havana and Washington. Since Donald Trump's return to the White House and the appointment of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, U.S. policy toward Cuba has revolved around a consistent idea: the issue with the Island is not just economic, but political, and the reforms will be unfeasible as long as power remains in the same hands.
"They are economically incompetent."
Marco Rubio has been particularly emphatic in that assessment.
At the end of April, he stated that "things can improve in Cuba with serious economic reforms, but not with the current rulers. They are economically incompetent", a statement that encapsulated Washington's position on the future of the Island.
A few weeks earlier, he had already expressed a similar idea by stating that "Cuba's economy cannot change unless its system of government changes", dismissing the notion that mere administrative adjustments or new economic measures would suffice to reverse the country's decline.
Rubio also publicly rejected the reforms announced by Havana, deeming them insufficient. "The bottom line is that their economy does not work. It is a non-functional economy," he stated from Washington, arguing that the Cuban model long ago exhausted its ability to sustain itself.
Trump also increased the pressure
Donald Trump himself has taken a similar stance.
In May, he stated that Cuba was a "failed state" that "is only heading in one direction: downward," while his administration increased economic pressure through new sanctions directed at the state apparatus and the military conglomerate GAESA.
Although Trump has left the door open for dialogue with Havana, Washington has conditioned any progress on much deeper changes than the economic reforms announced by the regime.
The U.S. position has been reiterated time and again by Rubio: it's not enough to make economic adjustments; the problem lies within the political system itself and those who are in charge of it.
A response with a clear recipient
In this context, Díaz-Canel's assertion that "economic, political, and social decisions are and will be ours" takes on a clear political significance.
More than just a simple assertion of national sovereignty, the phrase seems to respond to the growing discourse emanating from Washington, which insists that Cuba needs a much deeper transformation than the 176 Economic and Social Transformations that the regime announced it is willing to undertake.
However, many economists have warned that these measures keep the political monopoly of the Communist Party intact and do not introduce institutional changes capable of ensuring legal security, real competition, or economic independence.
Two irreconcilable visions
The distance between both discourses is difficult to bridge today.
While Díaz-Canel insists that Cuba's course can only be decided from Havana and rejects any foreign interference, the Trump administration argues that the current leadership has proven incapable of pulling the country out of the crisis for years.
Rubio has even stated that Cuba only has two possible paths: a worsening of the crisis leading to the collapse of the system or a recovery based on deep reforms that he believes are impossible under the current leadership.
In that context, the statement made by Díaz-Canel transcends the commemorative speech of July 26th. It also represents a political response to the main message that Washington has been repeating for months: that the Cuban crisis will not be resolved solely with new economic measures, but with structural changes in the power system.
Reiterating that the decisions "are and will be ours," the leader appointed by Raúl Castro makes it clear that the regime is not willing to accept the conditions set by the United States.
Far from reversing an economic and social crisis that continues to deepen, the "appointed" stance seems to exacerbate the confrontation with a U.S. administration that believes the current political and economic model in the Island is exhausted.
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