The Presidency of Cuba released on Friday a segment of the program Criterio Compartido on X, which aired on Wednesday, October 8, on Radio Rebelde. In this segment, President Miguel Díaz-Canel presented economic transformations as a means to strengthen social programs and reduce inequalities.
The president stated that the country actively maintains more than 32 programs aimed at addressing family issues and acknowledged that a recent survey identified over 800,000 vulnerable individuals, a figure that official sources raised to about 883,000.
The promises of equity stand in stark contrast to the economic and social indicators cited in the sources. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) projects a contraction of the Cuban GDP by 6.5% in 2026, following an accumulated decline of 10.3% over the previous two years, while the official year-on-year inflation reached 25.19% in August and food prices increased by more than 36%.
The minimum pension, which is 4,000 pesos per month, amounts to about five dollars at the informal exchange rate, and the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights reports that 79% of people over 70 cannot have three meals a day.
The data on the distribution of state resources also challenges the official narrative of expanding social justice. Reports from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) and civil organizations such as the Cuban Observatory for Citizen Audit indicate that around 40% of state investment is allocated to tourism and hotel construction, compared to only about 2.7% to 2.75% designated for health and social assistance. This disparity raises questions about the government's economic priorities amidst the shortages affecting the population.
Critics also highlight the role of the military conglomerate GAESA, which controls tourism businesses through its division Gaviota S.A. Investigations published by independent media estimate that the group holds between 14.5 billion and 18 billion dollars in liquid assets abroad and in tax havens, resources that, according to these investigations, do not go through the state budget and are not subject to public audit.
Washington has described the conglomerate as "the core of Cuba's kleptocratic communist system" and accused it of generating revenue for the elites, rather than allocating it for the well-being of the population.
The program itself received more than 50 calls from citizens reporting issues related to the shortage of medicines, deficiencies in basic services, and bureaucratic hurdles.
During the broadcast, the leader acknowledged that the shortage of medications is due to a lack of foreign currency, and assured that the crisis also fosters citizen creativity, a statement that critics interpret as an attempt to shift the responsibility of the crisis onto the Cubans themselves.
The Criterio Compartido space was launched on September 23 and is broadcast biweekly as part of the regime's communication strategy to present the 176 economic and social transformations approved by the National Assembly in June as a participatory process.
In that context, Cubans such as Cesáreo Navas published a open letter addressed to Díaz-Canel in which he demanded "less rhetoric, fewer slogans and heroic calls, and indeed, more food, medicine, and respect for all human rights."
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