Cuba's president admits 'urgent changes' needed to overcome crisis
Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged that Cuba's communist model requires radical reforms, citing bureaucracy and delayed decisions as internal problems beyond the US blockade. The Communist Party met urgently to fast-track measures boosting the private sector and attracting investment from the diaspora.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Thursday made his most frank admission yet that the country's communist model needs "urgent changes" to overcome a major crisis that cannot be blamed solely on the crippling US oil blockade. Speaking at a hastily convened meeting of the Communist Party Central Committee, he pointed to internal obstacles: "slowness, bureaucracy and norms that impede those who want to produce" as well as "decisions that we have put off."
The meeting was called to fast-track reforms aimed at boosting the private sector and attracting investment from millions of Cubans who have fled abroad. The measures are part of an eleventh-hour bid to stave off economic collapse amid unprecedented US pressure. They are expected to be approved by the National Assembly later Thursday after being endorsed by the party.
While few details have been released, Díaz-Canel cited China and Vietnam as possible models for opening Cuba's economy six decades after the communist revolution. He acknowledged that some reforms "will not have absolute consensus but cannot be postponed." He argued that when people's lives become this hard, the government has a responsibility to change what needs to be changed rather than explain away the crisis.
Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance said Washington wants Cubans to be "happy and successful" and that talks are ongoing with the Cuban government about how they could change their ways. However, widespread skepticism remains. Many locals dismissed the announcements as too little, too late, or more state "lies." A 58-year-old cleaner, Iris, who had been without power for 12 hours, vented: "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 cautiously, seeing them as a chance that may or may not materialize.
The oil blockade imposed by President Donald Trump in January has brought the island's moribund economy to the brink, with power cuts sometimes lasting over 30 hours and shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine.
