Díaz-Canel Launches Radio Show, Defends Cuba's Economic Opening

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel launched his own radio program on Wednesday, using its first broadcast to defend the economic opening measures approved by Parliament in June while insisting the island will not abandon socialism.

The one-hour program, titled "Criterio Compartido" (Shared Criteria), was presented as a forum to build consensus through citizen participation and will air on alternate Wednesdays, according to its host. It featured messages collected from the public on the announced topic: reforms that include the possibility of direct imports and exports, hiring workers without government intermediation, and greater flexibility for private banks — measures that would have been unthinkable during decades of a model characterized by strong state centralism.

Díaz-Canel rejected suggestions that the changes amount to a shift toward capitalism. "These transformations do not mark a shift toward capitalism, nor are they a process of capitalist restoration," he said. "They are an update to our economic and social model, part of a socialist construction that must be innovative in light of the current situation. Therefore, the answer is clear, unequivocal, and direct: There is no return to capitalism."

The president also pushed back against criticism from the United States, saying Washington seeks to label Cuba a failed state to deflect blame for what he described as an intensified and prolonged blockade. "We tell the United States government that freedom arrived in Cuba on January 1, 1959, with that revolution. And we are not going to lose that freedom; we are going to defend it," he said.

Cuba is facing one of the worst crises in its history, with its economy on the brink of collapse after the United States imposed an energy and financial blockade in January — a move that has severely affected the population and exacerbated a pre-existing crisis.

Díaz-Canel noted that nine months have passed since the last fuel ship arrived in Cuba and that domestic fuel production, which covers 40% of total demand, is not enough to move the economy. He provided figures on the impact of U.S. sanctions: the electricity generation shortfall exceeded 2,000 megawatts per day, more than 60% of demand; 3.6 million people out of a population of 9.4 million are without water; the previous day, some 890 of 1,600 state-run bakeries were closed due to a lack of flour, affecting four million residents; and urban transportation is operating at 6% of capacity.

The president argued that economic viability is essential to the socialist project. "Socialism… that cannot produce, that cannot pay its teachers and doctors, is not socialism. And we cannot talk about social justice if we do not have an economy that supports that social justice," he said. He added that if Cubans are to keep dreaming and achieving results, they must transform themselves, but that this must be done under control and in a way that serves the interests of the people.

Unlike leaders of other countries who maintain a presence in the media, or the legendary daily press conferences of the late Cuban President Fidel Castro, Díaz-Canel rarely appears anywhere other than on official news programs. His most recent public appearance was on a televised podcast in 2024, and he does not have a public schedule.