In the midst of the official celebrations for the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth, Cuban economist Elías Amor posed a damning question during an interview with Tania Costa: "What did Fidel Castro leave to Cuba?"
The analysis comes as the Cuban regime organizes an extensive schedule of political events surrounding August 13, 2026, the central date of the centennial celebration, including the First International Colloquium "Fidel: Legacy and Future" held at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, with more than 1,500 delegates from 63 countries. Amor described all this display as "all this nonsense from Fidel Castro about the 100 years."
To answer his own question, the economist turned to a deliberately provocative comparison: the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco versus the leader of the Cuban 'revolution.' "Let's get into the comparison of dictators," he warned before outlining the contrast.
According to Amor, Franco left behind in Spain a network of roads, highways, tunnels, reservoirs, social housing, and the foundations of Social Security, "which is among the best in the world." In contrast to this inventory, the economist challenged anyone to point out an equivalent work from the Castro regime: "Let someone tell me something, let someone name a single building...".
His verdict was decisive: "What he left is what everyone knows. A destroyed nation. And people hating each other. There’s no way to pay for that, not even with thousands of years in hell. It's simply impossible to repay."
The economist placed this balance in the context of modernization projects that were cut short after 1959. Amor recalled that in 1956, the Havana Pilot Plan incorporated an ambitious underground metro project designed after the Paris model, with proposals from French companies ranging from 56 to 125 million pesos, which would have served more than two million people. "So many things were ultimately discarded due to all these atrocities that, if they had been implemented, Cuba would be something entirely different," he noted.
Amor also addressed the energy future of a free Cuba, responding to an audience member who suggested investing in nuclear energy. Instead of dismissing the idea, the economist wholeheartedly supported it. "Who has said that nuclear energy is not important? Of course it is. Cuba has scientists and technology, and it could do it perfectly well." He mentioned France and Germany as potential partners for that cooperation.
In that same segment, Amor questioned the dogma of the electric transition, citing data from the Spanish automotive market: 60% of sales are still combustion vehicles, and electric ones do not exceed 25%. "Electric energy, be careful, be careful that it is not the cure-all," he warned.
The economist, who in July stated that he had never seen the end of the regime so close, concluded the segment with a call to the future leaders of the island: “They have already sunk our lives once, and that is over now. We must gather the courage to do good things for Cubans, to govern ourselves according to our interests.”
His final message directed pointedly at those who, in his view, would seek to influence the decisions of a free Cuba with agendas that do not align with the interests of the Cuban people.
"What we Cubans must not do when we reclaim the nation and establish a free democratic republic based on the model of a liberal economy is to pay attention to the timindunguis."
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