In a rare moment of candor, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has acknowledged that the island's communist economic model requires "urgent changes" to address the worst crisis in living memory. Speaking before the Communist Party Central Committee in Havana, Díaz-Canel broke with the usual narrative of blaming Washington's six-decade trade embargo and the recent oil blockade, admitting that internal failings are also to blame.
"There are obstacles that don't come from outside, nor the blockade," Díaz-Canel said in remarks broadcast on Thursday. He specifically called out "slowness, bureaucracy and norms that impede those who want to produce" as well as "decisions that we have put off." The president's admission comes as the country faces power cuts lasting over 30 hours, along with severe shortages of food, fuel, drinking water, and medicine.
Reforms Under Pressure
The party meeting was hastily convened to fast-track reforms aimed at boosting the private sector and attracting investment from the millions of Cubans who have fled abroad. The measures are expected to be approved by the National Assembly later Thursday, following the party's endorsement. While few details have been released, Díaz-Canel cited China and Vietnam as possible models for opening Cuba's economy, six decades after the revolution.
"Their backs are up against the wall as never before," said Michael Bustamante, Cuban Studies Chair at the University of Miami. "They're in the uncomfortable position of making changes to their economic model, seemingly because of the pressure that's being exerted on them by the United States."
The oil blockade imposed by President Donald Trump in January has brought the island's already moribund economy to the brink of collapse. The Trump administration has been pushing for a change in Cuba's leadership as well as its economic model, with Trump himself floating a "friendly takeover" of the island. Vice-President JD Vance indicated on Thursday that Washington is in talks with Havana about potential changes, saying, "If they make smart decisions, we're going to have a much better relationship with that island."
Díaz-Canel appeared to anticipate resistance from Communist hardliners. Some of the reforms "will not have absolute consensus but cannot be postponed," he said. He argued that "when people's lives become this hard," the government has a responsibility to "change what needs to be changed" rather than try to explain away the crisis.
However, widespread skepticism remains among the Cuban population. Many locals dismissed the announcements as too little, too late, or simply more state "lies." Iris, a 58-year-old cleaner who had been without power at home for 12 hours, told AFP: "It's a lie, we've been doing this for 67 years and it gets worse every day."
The country's small but growing business class welcomed the changes, though with caution. "The reforms offer hope, a chance that may or may not materialise," said Mario Gonzales, manager of a restaurant in Havana's historic old town. His establishment, once thronged with tourists a decade ago, now fills only a handful of tables for dinner.
Some of the announced reforms are a rehash of earlier proposals, such as granting greater autonomy to state-owned enterprises, which account for roughly 80% of economic activity. It remains unclear whether these measures will satisfy either the Cuban people or the Trump administration, which continues to exert unprecedented pressure on the island.
