Miguel Díaz-Canel defended the existence of dollar stores in Cuba during an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, conducted by journalist Mônica Bergamo, and claimed that on the Island there are "fewer social differences" than in any capitalist country.
A revealing exchange occurred when Bergamo pointed out directly what he observed during his visits to Cuba: "There are stores where you shop in dollars, there are stores where you shop in pesos that have very few items; in other words, there is a significant social disparity."
Díaz-Canel's response was to refer back to the Soviet collapse of the 1990s to justify those measures as unavoidable concessions needed to maintain socialism.
"That was when social inequality began; that was when we had to open stores that accept foreign currency. Stores that accept foreign currency are not part of this moment, but they exist in capitalism," stated the leader, who also defended the opening to foreign investment with the same argument: that it exists "in the entire capitalist world and in those that are building socialism as well."
Díaz-Canel acknowledged that the emergency measures of the 1990s created social disparities, primarily because some people received remittances from the United States while others did not, and he admitted that this social divide persists more than three decades later.
Despite that admission, he insisted that the Cuban gap is smaller than that of any market economy.
"I can assure you that in Cuba there are fewer social differences than in a capitalist country. The gap between the rich and the poor in the world and in capitalism is much wider than the difference that may exist here between the individuals with the highest income and those with the lowest income," he stated.
As a closing argument, Díaz-Canel appealed to the state's assistance programs: "Even those with the lowest incomes, those in vulnerable situations, are supported by over 32 social programs that bolster the state budget. And that is socialism. In capitalism, these social inequalities are not resolved. Every person for themselves."
His statements contrast with the reality that the Cuban people experience.
The Cuban Observatory of Social Rights estimated in September 2025 that 89% of the population was living in extreme poverty. Almost a year later, that figure rose to 94%, according to the IX Report on the State of Social Rights in Cuba, prepared by the Cuban Observatory of Social Rights itself and the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH).
Finally, when asked directly if Cuba is implementing capitalist reforms to survive, Díaz-Canel flatly denied it: "There are no capitalist reforms," he stated, two months after the National Assembly approved a package of 176 economic measures that includes private banking, private currency exchange, and greater openness to foreign investment.
The ruler described the expansion of the private sector as "a concession," not an ideal of socialism, and quoted Fidel Castro to justify this logic: "Principles are not negotiable, principles do not change, but there are times when concessions must be made to protect those principles."
Filed under: