The National Assembly of the People's Power approved the liquidation of the State Budget for 2025 this Wednesday, after hearing a report from the Minister of Finance and Prices, Vladimir Regueiro Ale, who proclaimed advances in fiscal discipline and the maintenance of social programs.
The reaction of Cubans on social media was one of almost unanimous rejection: “There is no noticeable attention to social issues, at least in Camagüey,” summarized a comment that captured the general sentiment.
According to the report presented to the Parliament, the fiscal deficit by the end of 2025 reached 67,642 million pesos, which is 20,897 million less than initially projected and equivalent to 5.4% of the Gross Domestic Product.
The official stated that gross revenue reached 463.461 million pesos and that 64% of total spending —518.543 million pesos— was allocated to Public Health, Education, Assistance, and Social Security.
The regime also claimed that Public Health received more than 75 billion pesos, that over 103 million consultations were handled in primary care, and that Social Security executed 60.691 billion, including the partial increase in pensions that benefited 1.593 million retirees.
But the gap between those figures and the everyday life of Cubans was revealed in the comments on the post by the state-run Cubadebate on Facebook.
"One has to be an idiot to believe that report! A country that has no water, energy, food, or medicine," wrote a user.
Another directly questioned the minister: "Did the fiscal deficit really decrease? Does this guy think that we are all abnormal in Cuba?"
A third comment highlighted the salary inequality exposed by the official report: “According to the minister, the average salary of a worker in the electric company is 20,000 pesos. Now, with this increase, a surgeon's salary reaches 8,000; adding on-call shifts, it might reach 10,000. The same situation applies to teachers and professors.”
From Santa Clara, another Cuban denied the official statements about the distribution of electricity: "The claims about circuit rotation are false. They should come to Santa Clara to see the audacity: circuits 2 and 6, among others, have gone months without power at night."
The question that resonated the most among the comments was a single one: "Can you mention a problem you have been able to solve? Just one, I’m not asking for more than that."
Skepticism is backed by independent data. Cuba's economy contracted by around 5% in 2025, accumulating a decline of more than 15% since 2020, according to the Center for Studies on the Island's Economy.
The average monthly salary in Cuba was around 5,839 pesos in April 2025, equivalent to about 16 dollars at the unofficial exchange rate, while the minimum pensions raised in September of that year barely exceeded 3,000 pesos.
In 2025, several provinces recorded power outages of up to 20 hours daily, with a generation deficit exceeding 2,000 megawatts, a reality that contrasts with the investment data in basic services presented to Parliament.
"Why don't they all step out of their bubble and spend 15 days living under the same conditions as the majority of the people? Let's see how they handle it," concluded another Cuban, summarizing the gap that no official report seems able to bridge.
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