The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged before more than 1,500 delegates from 63 countries that Cuba is experiencing an unprecedented crisis in decades, although he attributed the decline solely to external factors.
He did it on Monday at the opening of the I International Colloquium "Fidel: Legacy and Future", held at the Palace of Conventions in Havana as part of the celebrations for the centenary of the birth of Fidel Castro.
"I do not exaggerate when I say that this colloquium is taking place at one of the most difficult moments that the Revolution has experienced," the leader stated during his keynote address, in which he also directly listed the issues troubling the population: "We are burdened by blackouts, a lack of water, inflation, and long lines," he said according to the official page of the regime.
Far from assuming institutional responsibility for the collapse, Díaz-Canel framed the crisis as the result of a "criminal war that has lasted for more than six decades" and the "intensification of the blockade and imperial hostility," referring to U.S. sanctions and pressure from Washington.
The speech on Monday is not an isolated acknowledgment. Throughout 2026, the leader has repeated similar statements on at least five occasions — March 27, May 9, June 19, July 20, and August 8 — consistently portraying the crisis as a period of resilience rather than a consequence of the economic model.
The seriousness of the situation described is verifiable and goes beyond official rhetoric. According to data from Infobae, the Cuban economy has recorded a GDP decline of over 15% since 2020, with a contraction of nearly 5% in 2025. The electricity deficit reached a record of 2,341 MW in July, with blackouts lasting up to 20 and 30 hours daily in some areas. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, admitted in May that Cuba has no reserves of fuel oil or diesel. The Cuban peso is trading at about 500 per dollar on the informal market.
In July, Díaz-Canel acknowledged that the regime has had to resort to practices typical of capitalism to survive the crisis. In May, on the other hand, he claimed that Cuba "has already overcome the Special Period," a statement that contrasts with the prevailing perception among Cubans, who consider the current situation worse than that of the 1990s.
The colloquium, which brings together more than a thousand foreigners arrived in Cuba for the centenary celebrations, will continue until August 13. On the same day, the main event is scheduled to take place in Birán, Holguín, Castro's birthplace, and the official commemorative program will extend until December 4, 2026.
In his speech, Díaz-Canel called to "save the Cuban Revolution from one of the most serious threats it has faced in 67 years" and presented Fidel Castro's thoughts as "the most precise compass we have to navigate the storm that the Cuban people are living through," a formula that summarizes the regime's strategy: invoking the founder of the revolution as a response to a crisis that has been deepening for years.
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