Miguel Díaz-Canel rejected the notion that Cuba is on the brink of collapse, despite acknowledging a situation that he himself described as "completely complex," in an extensive interview granted to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
In response to the direct question from journalist Mônica Bergamo, the Cuban leader replied: "No, we are not on the brink of collapse. We are in a complex situation, but with enormous creativity that complements the heroic resilience of the Cuban people. We are seeking alternatives, and there is a complete struggle to overcome these adversities with our own efforts and our own talents."
To support his argument, Díaz-Canel resorted to rhetorical and completely ridiculous phrases: "There are blackouts, but no blackout has extinguished the hope of the Cuban people. There are shortages, but no shortage has shattered the ability to grow."
He added that "without power, our doctors and nurses arrive every day to save lives," and that the teachers finished the school year graduating more than 30,000 university students, including young people from over 62 countries, among them around twenty Palestinians and five American doctors.
At the same time, he provided data that contradicts his official optimism. He admitted that in the past seven months, only one oil tanker has arrived in Cuba—a Russian humanitarian aid shipment of 100,000 tons of crude—when the country needs seven fuel vessels per month. He attributed this situation to the policies of the Trump administration.
The result, according to the leader himself, is blackouts lasting more than 20, 30, and even 40 hours a day, in addition to total system outages that take days to recover from.
He noted that Cuba recovered 1,400 megawatts of distributed generation using diesel and fuel oil, but has been unable to utilize them due to a lack of supplies; had they been used, power outages would have been reduced to about three hours daily.
The health crisis you described is equally severe: more than 64,000 children have outdated immunization schedules, over 34,000 pregnant women cannot receive ultrasounds, and infant mortality has doubled. There are more than 98,000 patients waiting for surgeries, over 117,000 cancer patients without primary oncological treatment, and the country can only cover 30% of the basic medication list.
Díaz-Canel described all of this as "genocide."
One of the most tense moments of the interview arose when Bergamo relayed a sentiment he frequently heard among the Cuban population: "there is an internal blockade." The leader did not deny the existence of bureaucracy and government delays, but he played them down.
"When people refer to internal blockage, they are talking about the dissatisfaction they have with certain elements of bureaucracy, the slowness we've experienced in specific government actions, which we have been the main critics and self-critics of." He emphasized that "the main cause of the situation Cuba is experiencing is the external blockade."
That stance contrasts with his own words from June, when he acknowledged that "there are obstacles that do not come from outside or from the blockade".
In contrast to the regime's optimism, the IX Report from the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, published this month, indicates that 94% of Cubans live in extreme poverty and 95% disapprove of the government's economic and social management, based on 1,318 interviews conducted in 79 municipalities.
When asked how long Cuba can endure without an agreement with Washington, Díaz-Canel was unequivocal: "We have no alternative but to endure. We must resist."
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