The Cuban regime relaunched the official podcast "Desde la Presidencia", hosted by Miguel Díaz-Canel, featuring the first episode of its second season dedicated to the 176 Economic and Social Transformations approved in June 2026.
The space had remained inactive for more than 15 months —its last episode was dedicated to the ETECSA rate hike, published on June 5, 2025— and its return was met with skepticism and mockery by a significant portion of internet users.
Díaz-Canel was accompanied by the Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and the Minister of Justice Rosabel Gamón Verde in an event that revisited the discussions from the most recent Council of Ministers regarding the progress of the reforms.
Marrero Cruz offered the most detailed official report to date: between July and September 2026, 160 implementation proposals were designed and 197 legal standards were approved. During this period, more than 3,600 new small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes) were authorized, bringing the total in the country to 16,100, along with 448 non-state cooperatives and more than 385,000 self-employed workers.
However, the Prime Minister himself admitted the central contradiction of the process: "We already have the path open to move forward; and in fact, we are making progress and some results are becoming evident, although improvements in the quality of life for the population are not yet noticeable; but we are moving forward little by little."
Minister Gamón Verde reported that out of the 138 legal provisions initially identified, 105 have already been drafted and approved this quarter, and she emphasized that "the most important aspect here is the process of follow-up and monitoring."
Díaz-Canel resorted to the regime's usual argument: “We are in a moment of urgency, under conditions of war against Cuba,” referring to what he described as a multidimensional war attributed to the sanctions from the United States. Marrero promised concrete results for the coming year: “Next year we will start with a level of progress and with a level of results that our people will truly be able to appreciate.”
The reality contrasts with this official optimism. ECLAC projects a decline in Cuba's GDP of 10.3% in 2026, the worst in Latin America, while year-on-year inflation reached 25.19% in August, with food prices increasing by 36.01%. The minimum wage is equivalent to less than five dollars at the informal exchange rate, and the island has already experienced eight nationwide blackouts this year.
One day before the podcast was released, economist Elías Amor described the reform package as "a huge deception", pointing out that "there have been previous experiences, like when Raúl Castro came to power with the guidelines. And what happened? Well, after a while, they backtracked because, for whatever reason, there was no political will."
The return of the podcast—which in its first season, launched on March 20, 2024, reached 32 episodes—joins the radio program "Criterio Compartido," which premiered on Radio Rebelde on September 23, also hosted by Díaz-Canel, where citizens voiced complaints about insufficient salaries and high prices.
The reaction on social media was largely critical. "The circus returns," wrote one user. Another pointed out the root of the problem: "So many radio and TV programs, but the reality is that each day we are worse off in every aspect." A third noted the historical delay in the measures: "Back in 1990, many of these measures were recommended by our own economists [...] they are being implemented 36 years later." And another summed up the paradox of the official discourse: "It's a mockery; they create the obstacles themselves and then claim to have removed the bureaucratic barriers."
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