On Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged that the island’s reality “demands urgent and necessary changes,” referring to the package of economic reforms approved by the Communist Party (PCC) during an extraordinary plenary session.
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In a speech broadcast after the session concluded, Díaz-Canel emphasized that the PCC’s role “is not to explain the crisis” but rather “to change what needs to be changed.”
The economic reforms, announced last Friday by the president himself, include the entry of “new actors” into the tourism sector, the promotion of foreign direct investment, transformations in agriculture and foreign trade, as well as the decentralization of decision-making to grant greater autonomy to state-owned enterprises and municipalities.
Díaz-Canel reiterated that these transformations are to advance the defense of socialism, to support and expand social justice, to create economic wealth and distribute it equitably.
He described the measures as an emergency economic and social agenda that includes decisions that can no longer wait, warning that some will not have absolute consensus, but they are imperative.
@antonioguterres, UN Secretary-General, stated it loud and clear: 1. There is absolutely no reason or pretext for military aggression against #Cuba. 2. The US blockade violates international law, causes suffering to the Cuban people, and, therefore, the world condemns it annually pic.twitter.com/9ZPSqoLPrQ
— Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) May 12, 2026
Cuba is experiencing a profound energy crisis, exacerbated since January by the United States’ oil blockade. On May 1, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order sanctioning companies that do business with the Cuban state.
Although the Cuban government has not linked the reforms to negotiations with Washington, the U.S. administration is pressuring Havana to introduce economic and political changes.
The Cuban state economy is practically paralyzed and is estimated to contract by at least 6.5% this year, adding to an accumulated decline of more than 15% between 2020 and 2025.
Díaz-Canel stressed that the current moment demands transformation, increased production, more streamlining, greater listening, better decision-making, and accountability.
The next legal step for the reforms is their approval in the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP), convened in an extraordinary session.
#Cuba | President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated that current social realities demand immediate and necessary transformations across the country.
Speaking about national challenges, the Cuban leader emphasized that when citizens’ daily lives become increasingly difficult, the primary… pic.twitter.com/FYyqoq5sfR
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) June 18, 2026
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