The Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz stated this Tuesday that Cuba is integrating into the global economy "with sovereignty and not with submission," in a message posted on his X account that reflects statements made during the I International Colloquium "Fidel: Legacy and Future."
"Cuba asserts itself in the global economy with sovereignty and not submission, true to the legacy of the Commander on the centenary of his birth, who taught us that sovereignty is non-negotiable," wrote Marrero on his X profile, under the official campaign hashtags #100YearsWithFidel.
The message amplifies what the Prime Minister presented days earlier at the panel "Fidel and the World Economy" during the colloquium held at the Palace of Conventions in Havana from August 10 to 13, as part of the events commemorating the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth.
In that forum, Marrero defended the 176 economic and social transformations approved in June 2026 —organized into 23 axes— as "one hundred percent Cuban" measures, and rejected the idea that the regime is replicating the models of China or Vietnam.
"Cuban socialism cannot be a rigid theory," asserted the prime minister, presenting the package of reforms as a sovereign adaptation to the challenges of the global economy rather than a departure from the system.
The package approved in June includes more space for small and medium private enterprises, the opening of banking and exchange houses to non-state actors under the supervision of the Central Bank, opportunities for foreign investment, and reforms in foreign trade.
The regime presents these measures as an "update of the socialist model," although critics point out that they introduce market elements that contradict decades of official rhetoric.
The rhetoric of "non-negotiable sovereignty" is a recurring resource for the Cuban government to justify both its resistance to external pressures—including those from the U.S. embargo and the conditionalities imposed by international financial organizations—and the internal legitimacy of changes that expand the private sector.
The use of Castro's centenary as an ideological framework seeks to provide revolutionary continuity to a set of reforms that, for critical sectors, represents a shift towards market formulas that the regime itself fought against for decades.
The colloquium brought together over 1,500 delegates from 63 countries, including more than 1,000 foreigners, and its closing events featured Miguel Díaz-Canel, Raúl Castro, Esteban Lazo, and Roberto Morales Ojeda.
All of this is happening while Cuba is experiencing one of its deepest economic crises, characterized by prolonged blackouts, shortages of fuel and food, sustained inflation, and an unprecedented population exodus.
The Cuban government declared 2026 as the "Year of the Centenary" and has extended the commemorative agenda until December 4, the date of the tenth anniversary of Castro's burial at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago de Cuba.
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