While Manuel Marrero Cruz assured this Wednesday before the National Assembly that the economic transformations approved just a month ago are progressing "with a high level of compliance," Cubans were responding in the comments on Cubadebate's Facebook with a mix of irony, frustration, and distrust that starkly contrasts with the official optimism.
«To infinity and beyond», «only by reading Cubadebate can one see the progress», «one step forward and one step back»: these were some of the phrases with which Cuban citizens received the report presented by the prime minister on the package of 176 transformations approved in the extraordinary session on June 18.
Other comments were more direct: "Enough with the meetings, we want results," "the same dog with a different collar," "many decrees and laws every year, but nothing is fulfilled," and "I see many ideas, but no concrete measures."
Marrero informed the deputies that, out of the 121 transformations planned for June and July, 110 had already been approved, which is equivalent to 90.9% of the total planned, while five were partially progressing and the rest would be submitted for consideration before the end of this week.
The prime minister also announced that the first private exchange house in Cuba was ready to operate as a pilot project, following the approval of the regulatory framework by the Central Bank.
To implement the set of measures, the government prepared a legislative schedule that includes 138 legal norms, and the process was updated based on directives from Army General Raúl Castro and agreements from the Central Committee of the Party.
Marrero himself described the current stage as the "most important and difficult" of the process, focused on implementing measures and correcting deviations.
Citizen skepticism is neither new nor spontaneous. Cubans have been questioning the 176 measures of the regime for months, and this distrust has historical roots: Cuba has gone through multiple cycles of reform announcements — the guidelines of 2011, the Task Ordering of 2021 — that failed to reverse structural deterioration or alleviate shortages of food, medicine, and electricity.
In May, when the government presented its Economic and Social Program for 2026, the reaction on social media was the same: "And can you tell me what the big goals are...?" and "Another program!!!"
Cuban activists rejected the 176 measures, arguing that they do not address decades of crisis and that a fundamental political change is needed, while the United States government described the June reforms as “superficial smoke signals.”
Marrero himself acknowledged on June 30 that the biggest obstacle is not technical but cultural: "The greatest transformation has to be in our way of thinking," he said at that time before government officials.
The most complex measures of the package have been postponed until August-September, with some even pushed back to November 2026, which reinforces the perception that tangible changes—if they come—will take much longer than the timelines put forth by the government.
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