标签： Cuba

# Cuba’s Díaz-Canel Champions Social Justice as the Cornerstone of National Economic and Social Transformation

HAVANA, Cuba – On October 2, 2026, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also serves as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, convened a landmark gathering of government representatives, institutional leaders, civil society association members, neighborhood grassroots leaders, and community stakeholders to align national efforts around the core principle that economic growth and wealth generation hold no meaning without equitable distribution and tangible progress for social development.

The meeting centered on advancing Cuba’s 176 ongoing national Economic and Social Transformations, a series of socialist-led policy changes that the Cuban head of state emphasized are explicitly rooted in the social justice commitments that have defined the Cuban Revolution since its founding. Díaz-Canel was joined at the meeting by senior members of the Political Bureau, including Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power and the Council of State; Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee; and Teresa Amarelle Boue, General Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC). Additional attendees included Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz, Labor and Social Security Minister Jesús Otamendi Campos (who moderated the discussion), and cabinet ministers from all relevant government agencies.

Against the backdrop of long-standing U.S. sanctions, a economic blockade, and an ongoing energy embargo against Cuba, Díaz-Canel drew a clear distinction between Cuba’s people-centered transformation agenda and the austerity-focused “shock policies” common under capitalism. “Even amid our current challenges, we prioritize social initiatives, we champion inclusion, equity, and opportunities for all,” he told attendees, reaffirming that the social dimension of Cuba’s reforms is what sets them apart from market-first policies that exacerbate inequality.

## Grassroots Community Leadership Drives On-the-Ground Progress

The meeting prioritized input from community-level stakeholders, who shared concrete examples of how grassroots collaboration between state institutions, non-state economic actors, and local residents is advancing social justice across Havana’s neighborhoods.

Rosa María Luaces Gutiérrez, President of the Ampliación de Almendares People’s Council, outlined cross-sector collaboration in her neighborhood to address everything from streamlining pension disbursement to improving service delivery for the local Family Care System (SAF). In her community, non-state economic actors and local agricultural producers partner to supply fresh root vegetables and other produce to SAF meal sites, directly improving the nutritional quality of meals for vulnerable recipients. Local businesses in her area also provide targeted solidarity and material support to retired former employees, while expanded home visit programs identify and address the specific needs of at-risk residents, including pregnant women and young parents. One notable success she highlighted involved a 16-year-old breastfeeding mother who was able to secure a daycare spot for her infant and enroll in job training at a local micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME), removing barriers to her economic independence.

Other local leaders shared similarly impactful initiatives. Yanisley Martínez Acosta, director of a sports complex in Playa municipality, described how an infrastructure upgrade to the facility’s lighting system enabled a new outreach program for young people struggling with addiction. Through structured athletic activities and dedicated coaching, participants are replacing harmful habits with responsible, healthy lifestyles. The program also supports children and adolescents from dysfunctional family environments, with local economic actors donating sports equipment, uniforms, and snacks to remove participation barriers. In the densely populated Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Central Havana, FMC block leader Caridad Reyes Peña explained how local Federation members run a “communication with love” initiative that fosters mutual support, social cohesion, and community well-being, a model that has now been expanded to other nearby neighborhoods.

Both state and non-state economic actors also shared how they are embedding social responsibility into their core operations. Carlos A. Iznaga Valdés, an executive with the GECOMEX business group under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, reported that member companies allocate a portion of their profits to repair and revitalize public hospitals, schools, and other social infrastructure in Marianao and other Havana municipalities. Luis Miguel Morejón, President of Cerro-based MSME Hidrox S.U.R.L., explained that his company – originally launched as a local car wash development project – has taken on the additional social mission of cleaning and sanitizing local healthcare facilities and supporting neighborhood schools. Since 2022, the company has supplied essential goods to these social institutions at frozen prices, absorbing cost increases through revenue from its growing car wash operations. Hidrox also partners with the local municipal administration to provide food assistance to low-income pregnant women and other vulnerable residents.

Social workers and disability advocacy leaders also emphasized the positive impact of the transformation agenda on marginalized groups. Adriana Romero, a social worker in Marianao’s Zamora-Coco Solo neighborhood, noted that coordinated social policy working groups have strengthened community-led prevention efforts, aligned with long-standing priorities set by Cuba’s revolutionary leadership. Jorge Luis Cala Ledesma, President of the National Association of the Blind of Cuba (ANCI), joined other disability organization leaders in thanking the national government for its continued targeted attention and support to people with disabilities, noting that the transformation agenda has already delivered tangible improvements to their members. Wilfredo González Vidal, Director General of Cuba’s Digital Government Center, highlighted how the domestic “Soberanía” digital platform is streamlining access to social protection, allowing vulnerable residents to request and receive various forms of assistance through integrated digital services.

## Coordinated Action to Ensure Equity Amid Economic Reform

Díaz-Canel opened the meeting by reaffirming that the ongoing national transformation process follows a structured consultative framework, beginning with input from Party and Youth League members and now expanding to workplaces and communities, where neighborhood organizations play a foundational role. He stressed that as economic liberalization is introduced as part of the reforms, all social policy institutions must work to prevent widening inequality, ensuring that structural changes deliver the greatest benefit to the most vulnerable – the core spirit of the transformation agenda.

The president emphasized that upholding social justice requires all actors to understand their unique role, and that institutions must move beyond siloed mandates to build integrated cross-sector networks. “Effective coordination across all levels, from national government to local communities, is the key to delivering on these commitments,” he noted.

Díaz-Canel pushed back against empty rhetoric around social justice, arguing that tangible progress requires a functional economy that works for all. “It is essential that economic development contributes to social justice, and that social justice in turn drives and participates in economic development – because society is the true protagonist of economic growth,” he explained.

He outlined core guiding principles for local actors, stressing that “social justice is not defended through speeches; it is defended by institutions that operate with social justice as their explicit objective.” This requires centered, tailored support for the most vulnerable members of society. He added that both state and non-state economic actors should be recognized not only as agents of growth, but also as key social actors, noting that a new culture of solidarity is emerging across the business community, where social responsibility is framed as a shared commitment to the Cuban people.

To ensure the social dimension of transformations is upheld, Díaz-Canel emphasized that social protection must be accessible and free of unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, while also cautioning against making promises that cannot be delivered given current resource constraints.

Closing the meeting, Díaz-Canel described the gathering of institutional and community stakeholders as deeply inspiring, reaffirming that even amid the prolonged hardship caused by the blockade and energy embargo, Cuba remains unwavering in its commitment to building a more just, equitable society for all its people.

In an official meeting focused on the country’s ongoing development agenda, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has reaffirmed the Cuban government’s core governing philosophy: that economic expansion holds no genuine value unless it delivers tangible, broad-based improvements to national social development. The official statement of the meeting was published on the presidency’s official website.

In his remarks to participants, Díaz-Canel made clear that the accumulation of national economic wealth is an empty goal without two critical conditions: first, that it actively funds and advances widespread social programs that lift up vulnerable communities, and second, that all generated prosperity is distributed in alignment with the principles of social justice. “For us, it makes no sense to generate economic wealth if it does not impact and support social programs—and, above all, if that wealth is not distributed based on the concept of social justice,” he said.

The president underlined that this unwavering commitment to social justice is what defines the socialist identity of the 176 sweeping economic and social transformation initiatives currently being rolled out across the country. He drew a clear contrast between Cuba’s development model and the free-market shock policies pushed by capitalist systems, noting that these same capitalist governments are the ones responsible for the hostile actions targeting Cuba: including diplomatic attacks, long-standing economic blockades, and a punishing energy embargo that has strained the country’s resources.

Beyond framing the core ideological foundation of Cuba’s current reforms, the meeting also spotlighted two key pillars for successful implementation of these changes. First, participants emphasized that the Cuban people and their local grassroots organizations hold an irreplaceable, central role in rolling out transformation at the community level. Second, the gathering stressed that all economic actors—both entities managed by the state and emerging non-state business operations—share a collective obligation to uphold social responsibility as part of their operations.

Díaz-Canel also detailed the inclusive, bottom-up process that has shaped the current wave of reforms. He explained that the transformation planning process began with extensive consultation with members of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Young Communist League, before expanding out to workplaces and residential communities, where neighborhood organizations have played a fundamental role in shaping priorities and ensuring reforms reflect local needs.

When Claudia Sheinbaum took office as Mexico’s first female head of the executive branch, she inherited a policy framework forged by her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who led the country from 2018 to 2024. Staying consistent with her predecessor’s fiscal philosophy, Sheinbaum has continued rolling out strict administrative austerity measures, while placing a core policy priority on expanding what she calls “efficient tax collection” across the country.

This policy focus has already delivered measurable, historic results. Official data shows that total federal government revenue hit an all-time record of 6.046 trillion Mexican pesos, equivalent to roughly 334.162 billion U.S. dollars, in the last full calendar year. Updated figures running through August 2026 indicate that revenue has grown by an additional 149 billion pesos (around 8 billion U.S. dollars) when compared to the same eight-month period in 2025.

Sheinbaum’s administration has redirected these growing public funds into high-priority domestic investments that directly benefit Mexican communities. Funding has been channeled into expansive social assistance programs projected to reach more than 42.86 million people by the end of 2026, alongside upgrades to educational and healthcare facilities, affordable housing developments, critical water infrastructure, new road and rail connections, and expanded public security initiatives.

These strong fiscal gains come against a volatile global economic backdrop, marked by shifting U.S. trade tariff policies and sustained upward pressure on global oil prices. Despite these external headwinds, the economic model implemented by the current Mexican administration has posted clear positive outcomes that outperform many regional projections.

Beyond economic policy, Sheinbaum has carved out a clear diplomatic stance in relations with the United States, which has faced renewed tensions since Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency. While Sheinbaum has openly committed to maintaining productive cross-border collaboration on shared priorities, she has drawn a firm line on Mexico’s national autonomy, making clear that the country’s sovereignty is non-negotiable. In her framing, bilateral cooperation between the two North American neighbors will continue, but it will never come at the cost of Mexican subordination to U.S. interests.

Every September 28, Cubans across the island gather to celebrate an institution unlike any other in the world: the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). This year’s commemoration unfolded in typical grassroots fashion, with neighbors braving light drizzle to contribute scarce provisions for community gatherings, keeping alive a spirit of collective resistance that has persisted through decades of external pressure. Even as the rain dampened sidewalks, the flame of revolutionary solidarity held strong, stoked by ordinary residents pushing back against the impacts of the U.S. imperial energy blockade that has disrupted life across thousands of Cuban households.

Founded in 1960 by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, the CDR emerged not as a top-down mandate, but as a critical response to urgent threats facing the young Cuban Revolution. At the time, foreign and domestic counter-revolutionary forces backed by the United States were waging a widespread campaign of sabotage, economic harm, fear-mongering, and division aimed at destabilizing the new government and dismantling the revolutionary project. Upon his return from the United States, Fidel Castro revealed the unprecedented initiative to a massive crowd gathered near Havana’s Presidential Palace: a nationwide system of collective revolutionary vigilance rooted in local communities.

“We are going to establish a system of collective revolutionary vigilance… so that the people keep watch, so that the people observe, and so that they see that when the mass of the people organizes, no imperialist—nor any imperialist lackey, sellout, or instrument—can make a move,” Castro announced that day.

What followed was a grassroots movement that spread across every city block and neighborhood in Cuba, turning ordinary residents into the first line of defense for the revolution. The network multiplied watchful eyes, strengthened collective defensive resolve, built deep community ties, and fostered a widespread sense of national belonging. As a decentralized people’s shield, the CDR neutralized thousands of hostile acts in its early decades, allowing the Cuban nation to rest and build in peace.

Sixty-six years on, critics and even some long-time supporters note that the CDR is not the same organization it was in 1960. That reality is undisputed: decades have passed, new generations have come of age, national circumstances have shifted dramatically, and Cuba continues to transform and adapt to a changing global landscape. But commemoration organizers and leaders stress that the core purpose of the CDR remains as vital as ever. Adversaries of the Cuban Revolution, they argue, retain the same hostile intent even as their tactics evolve, and the warning from revolutionary icon Che Guevara to never yield “even an iota” of collective sovereignty still holds.

That is why the CDR remains a permanent, central institution in Cuban public life, leaders emphasize. A year ago, during an event in Ciego de Ávila, Hero of the Republic of Cuba and national CDR coordinator Gerardo Hernández Nordelo reiterated a core principle that all revolutionaries must keep in mind: “We cannot remain anchored in the past; times change, and the Cuba of today faces new challenges… Community participation and open dialogue are essential at this moment, when we must change our methods of struggle but never abandon the fight itself. The Revolution is built from every home, every city block, every neighborhood, and every committed heart.”

Today, as the nation marks another anniversary of the CDR’s founding, that message resonates across the island. No other organization in the world matches the unique history, grassroots roots, and collective mission of the CDR, and its 66 years of existence stand as a testament to the power of community organizing in defending national sovereignty against external pressure.

On September 24, 2026, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also serves as First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, launched a new biweekly radio program titled *Criterio Compartido* (Shared Views) aired on Radio Rebelde, designed to create a direct, unfiltered channel of communication between the national leadership and the Cuban public. Framing the show as an innovative mechanism for grassroots engagement, Díaz-Canel opened the debut broadcast by emphasizing that every citizen’s input holds weight, confirming that all incoming calls and public comments—even those not selected for live broadcast—would be formally documented, categorized, and routed to relevant government bodies for official follow-up.

The premiere episode featured live calls from listeners across Cuba’s diverse regions, who raised a range of pressing daily concerns that reflect the challenges currently facing Cuban households. A caller from Cienfuegos pointed out the persistent implementation gap between national policy and local execution, calling for strengthened oversight to ensure central-level decisions deliver tangible results at the community level. A woman from Arroyo Naranjo shared a decade-long struggle to secure access to an unused plot of land for food production, noting that despite a positive official assessment from the Ministry of Agriculture, her request has not yet been approved. She added that she is part of a nationwide network of 101 women-led productive plots, and asked the president to help resolve her long-standing case. Another caller from Contramaestre raised urgent questions about sky-high inflation and rising living costs, arguing that current wages and pension benefits are no longer sufficient to cover basic household needs. An 88-year-old retiree echoed this concern, describing the daily difficulties of making ends meet on a fixed pension and urging that upcoming economic reforms prioritize support for vulnerable older adults. One listener also pressed the president on Cuba’s ongoing fuel shortages, asking if the government had secured new fuel supply agreements with allied nations.

In his candid response, Díaz-Canel acknowledged the acute severity of the current fuel crisis, confirming that despite exhaustive diplomatic and logistical efforts, no fuel shipments have reached Cuba from global markets in nine months. He placed full blame for this crisis on the extraterritorial energy blockade imposed by the United States, which was expanded under the Trump administration’s second executive order, cutting off Cuba’s access to international fuel markets. The president also outlined the wide-ranging ripple effects of the blockade across the Cuban economy: persistent electricity deficits, interrupted drinking water supplies, widespread flour shortages at bakeries, ongoing shortages of liquefied gas, and systemic disruptions to public transportation. Pushing back against narratives that attribute Cuba’s challenges solely to internal inefficiency or state failure, he described the US blockade as a criminal policy that has crippled the country’s ability to sustain normal economic activity.

A central core of Díaz-Canel’s message during the broadcast was the critical need to rebuild and expand domestic productive capacity. “The country must produce. It cannot keep hoping to solve everything through imports,” he stressed, adding that administrative price controls alone cannot resolve the country’s inflation crisis. Long-term price stability, he argued, can only be achieved by increasing domestic output, growing overall national wealth, and expanding the supply of goods available to the public. The president acknowledged that the Cuban public will judge the government’s ongoing economic and social transformations by their tangible impact on daily life, noting, “Until we see the results of these transformations on the dinner table, at the pharmacy, and in the hospital, there will be no satisfaction.” He summed up the core goals of the current reform process in three simple terms: more production, more jobs, and higher wages.

Addressing widespread public concern that the expansion of market mechanisms and the non-state sector signals a shift away from socialism toward capitalism, Díaz-Canel offered a clear, unambiguous rejection of that idea. “These transformations are neither a turn toward capitalism nor a process of capitalist restoration,” he stated. “They are the updating of our economic and social model within a socialist framework—one that must also be innovative.” The president emphasized firmly that there would be no return to capitalism in Cuba, noting that even with the inclusion of private enterprise, market activity, and foreign investment, ultimate authority remains with the Cuban people through their state and party institutions. “The market is a tool, not a master—as it is in capitalism,” he explained, adding that centralized planning, the leading role of the state and the Communist Party, and popular oversight will continue to govern how these tools are used.

Díaz-Canel also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ongoing grassroots dialogue throughout the reform process, acknowledging that implementation errors are inevitable and that the government will adjust course based on public feedback. “These transformations will truly work if we participate as a people, exercise oversight as a people, make demands as a people, and get involved as a people,” he said. He also emphasized that all reforms must prioritize a strong social dimension to prevent growing inequality, highlighting existing protection measures for retirees and vulnerable groups, including targeted subsidies, special support programs, and a dedicated social development fund.

On the topic of renewable energy transition, the president shared positive progress updates: Cuba has already installed 1,418 megawatts of renewable energy capacity across 144 photovoltaic solar parks, with total capacity expected to cross 1,500 megawatts by the end of 2026. Currently, 21.4% of Cuba’s total electricity generation comes from renewable sources, with solar systems installed in public health facilities including polyclinics, hospitals, maternity wards, and nursing homes. The country is also progressing on a project to decouple water pumping operations from the national electric grid, reducing strain on the system and improving resilience.

Closing out the debut broadcast, Díaz-Canel responded to recent interventionist statements from former US President Donald Trump, describing them as “utterly arrogant, high-handed, and interventionist” that reflect a “genocidal, criminal mindset and the contempt directed toward Cuba.” He accused the United States of deliberately spreading false narratives that Cuba is a failed state to shift blame for the humanitarian harm caused by the decades-long blockade. Closing with a forceful defense of Cuban sovereignty, he declared, “Cuba’s freedom arrived on January 1, 1959, with this Revolution; we are not going to lose that freedom—we are going to defend it.”

Havana, February 8, 1953 — Five days have passed since an unprovoked, brutal raid on the Havana art studios of Cuban sculptor José Manuel Fidalgo Rodríguez, and the sitting Batista administration has yet to issue any public explanation for the attack. What is more troubling: the sculptor himself has not been seen since the incident, leaving the Cuban public growing more alarmed by the hour over his fate. This scathing public denunciation, originally penned by Fidel Castro Ruz for publication in *Bohemia* magazine, lays bare the full details of the regime’s crackdown on dissident expression through art.