While Cubans have been without electricity for months to pump water, lacking food supplies in the stores and facing prices that the New York Times itself described as "astronomical," Miguel Díaz-Canel inaugurated this Friday in Havana the 24th International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, a two-day forum that brings together over 100 delegates from 48 organizations from various countries at the Convention Palace in the capital.
The event, which runs until Saturday, August 8, is held on the eve of the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth, scheduled for August 13, and the regime presents it as a demonstration of "international solidarity and support." The inaugural speech was delivered by Roberto Morales Ojeda, who invited attendees with a phrase that encapsulates the spirit of the gathering: "Let's dedicate this meeting to forging greater unity among communist and workers' parties", as reported by the official media outlet Trabajadores.
Morales Ojeda also took the opportunity at the podium to mention the 176 Economic and Social Transformations recently approved by the government, presenting them as proof that the Revolution is still alive and in motion. What he did not mention is that the Cuban economy contracted by 5% in 2025 and has accumulated a decline of 15% since 2020, according to analysts' data.
The irony of the moment did not escape anyone living on the Island. In June, power outages of between 20 and 22 hours a day were recorded in Havana, and even longer in the provinces, with an electrical deficit that frequently exceeds 2,000 MW. More than 60% of the national territory has been without electricity during peak demand hours in recent months. Meanwhile, at the Convention Palace, there was simultaneous translation, bottles of water, and media coverage for foreign delegates.
The reaction in the comments on the official publication from the Presidency of Cuba was overwhelming. "Keep wasting the little resources of the state, stop celebrating so much and focus on the brutal misery of the people," wrote one user. Another was more direct: "In the midst of the worst economic crisis in the history of Cuba, the PCC takes it upon itself to squander the little money that remains in Cuba on meetings that are just political posturing and pure waste. What a horror!"
A third comment, emphasized in capital letters, pointed to something the regime prefers not to measure: “[…] how interesting it would be to quantify the expenses incurred by the Cuban State in the various public events and international meetings of interest to the government. Such actions do not align with THE EXTREME CRISIS IN CUBA.” And someone else summed up the situation with an unanswered question: “And even in the midst of an energy crisis, we celebrate? I don’t understand anything.”
What is perfectly clear is the pattern. The official event calendar of the regime for 2026 includes more than 280 institutional activities. In May, an International Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba was held with 766 delegates from 152 organizations in 36 countries. In June, the XXII Congress of the Central Workers' Union of Cuba took place with "maximum austerity" —although there were 759 delegates attending in person and via videoconference—. And from August 10 to 13, the International Colloquium “Fidel: legacy and future” is scheduled to take place at the same Palacio de Convenciones.
This ideological tourism that continues despite the crisis contrasts sharply with the collapse of real tourism: Cuba received 112,000 fewer visitors in 2026 compared to the previous year, marking the worst decline in the sector since 2002. While the regime imports delegates from communist parties around the world, conventional tourists continue to flee the Island.
An internet user summarized it with a precision that sometimes only desperation can provide: "We need electricity to get water in La Güinera, there's never any electricity, we never have electricity." That statement, posted beneath the official announcement of the meeting, says more about Cuba in 2026 than any speech delivered this Friday at the Convention Palace.
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