Economist Elías Amor reacted strongly to the statements made by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, who on Monday concluded a training session for executives of state enterprises in Havana and asserted that "the first changes from the 176 economic transformations approved in June are already becoming apparent."
Love, in the weekly program she has on CiberCuba with Tania Costa, characterized those words as a major scandal. "You can't be more shameless and have the audacity to say that when Cubans are searching through the trash to see what they can eat and the blackouts continue."
Marrero justified his optimism by pointing out that 158 out of the 176 transformations are already underway, supported by 194 legal regulations published in the Official Gazette, which accounts for 89% of the reform package.
Amor dismantled that argument with a straightforward reasoning. "What needs to be told to Marrero is not to be foolish: publishing regulations, resolutions, decrees, and the like in the Official Gazette does not serve to stimulate an economy."
For the economist, the correct reasoning is the opposite of what the regime applies. "The economy is stimulated first by promoting private economic activity, and then, once everything is up and running smoothly, it is regulated to prevent unwanted outcomes in the economic processes."
Love also highlighted an internal contradiction among the regime's leaders. Marrero claims that the transformations will improve the quality of life for the people, but Díaz-Canel acknowledged at the time that those same measures were published "to try to maintain socialism."
The economist asked, "What have we come to? Because evidently, the living conditions of the people in terms of quality are not those of socialism. No Cuban in their right mind thinks that now, after 67 years of failure."
The data supports Amor's skepticism. According to figures from the ONEI for January-May 2026, net sales in the state sector dropped by 29.2% compared to the same period last year, and pre-tax profits plummeted by 31.5%, from 97.628 million to 66.922 million pesos.
The number of state-owned companies with losses rose from 252 in the same period of 2025 to 363 in 2026, an increase of 44%.
The crisis is not limited to the numbers. On the same Monday that Marrero announced progress, a breakdown in the gas pipeline left seven municipalities in Havana without gas, a coincidence that Amor did not overlook.
The economist warned that the gas situation poses a real danger. "Now there are even problems with gas, which could lead to a true disaster at any moment, because the pipelines are so poorly installed and so poorly maintained that a tragedy could happen at any time."
The humanitarian backdrop is equally serious. The Food Monitor Program estimated in April-May 2026 that 96.91% of the Cuban population did not have adequate access to food, while the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights reported that 89% of Cubans were living in extreme poverty and seven out of ten skipped at least one meal daily.
While Marrero asserts that the state socialist enterprise is "the main subject of the national economy" by constitutional mandate, microenterprises—the only sector that is growing, with a 35% increase—are heading in a direction contrary to the regime's ambitions.
Filed under: