English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Under another name, the regime offers the same recipes that have led the country to an unprecedented crisis. 14ymedio, Havana, 3 March 2026 — The lessons of the past have not sunk in at the top of the Cuban power structure, which continues to stumble, time and again, over the same stone in its failed … Continue reading “Díaz-Canel Insists on Improving a Failed Economic Model Instead of Adopting Another One”
The new campaign against the daily publication of exchange rates in the informal market reflects the authorities’ panic over the collapse of the peso. 14ymedio, Madrid, 4 November 2025 — The war against El Toque has returned as quickly as the sharp rise of the dollar in recent weeks on the informal currency market, followed … Continue reading “Cuba’s Officialdom Denounces “The Hijacking of the Role of the Central Bank of Cuba” by ’El Toque”
Farmers complain about repeated non-payments, another factor for the shipwreck of the industry that was once a symbol of Cuba 14ymedio, Madrid, September 15, 2025 — Everything indicates that the next sugar harvest will once again snatch the title of “worst in a century” from its predecessor. This was warned last July by the Minister … Continue reading “Millions of Dollars in Debt to Sugar Cane Producers Augurs for Another Disastrous Harvest in Cuba”
This measure aims to increase exports to 250 tons, which barely reached 36 tons in 2024. 14ymedio, Havana, August 11, 2025 — The Pinar del Río Agroforestry Company only exported 36 tons of charcoal out of the 400 tons it produced last year, but it promises very different results for 2025. According to its director, … Continue reading “A Hard-Currency Incentive Is Promised to the Charcoal Producers of Pinar Del Río, Cuba”
Official data confirm an 11% fall in GDP over the last five years. 14ymedio, Havana, 14 July 2025 — The Cuban economy is not in recovery. Economy Minister Joaquín Alonso Vázquez made this clear on Monday during the session of the Economic Commission of the Parliament, in the presence of the president himself, Miguel Díaz, … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Expresses Its Impotence in the Face of the Economic Collapse of the Country”
The presence of “18 foreign chains” and a plan to renovate hotel rooms stand out 14ymedio, Madrid, November 18, 2024 — The official newspaper Granma opens today with an article entitled “The recovery of housing infrastructure is a priority for the country,” in which the Minister of Economy and Planning, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, explains that … Continue reading “Despite the Data, the Cuban Government Insists That Tourism Must Be ‘The Locomotive of the Cuban Economy’”
The Council of Ministers says it has implemented “very important actions,” but they have not yet reached the population 14ymedio, Madrid, 30 September 2024 — With a fiscal deficit of more than 15% of the Gross Domestic Product, a GDP contraction of 1.9, an official year-on-year inflation rate of more than 30%, a devalued peso … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Sees ‘Discreet Progress’ in the Macroeconomy While the Country Sinks”
According to the Prime Minister, private individuals evaded 50 billion* pesos, and 354 sales of ’hidden’ products had to be forced 14ymedio, Madrid, July 18, 2024 — We could not expect anything other than a long list of economic penalties from Prime Minister Manuel Marrero’s intervention this Wednesday in Parliament, in which he evaluated the … Continue reading “Marrero Blames Private Businesses for the State Deficit and Praises Forced Sales for Violations of Capped Prices”
The cap on maximum profits for the private sector on sales to state-owned companies comes into force on Monday 14ymedio, Madrid, Monday, July 1, 2024 — Today, just as a cap on private-sector profits from sales to state-owned companies takes effect, the official communist party newspaper Granma opened with an article devoted to the most … Continue reading “Cuban Ministers Meet to Discuss Measures to Address a ‘War-Time Economy’”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 February 2024 — The discreet headline about the dismissal of three Cuban ministers that remained on the front page of Granma since yesterday has been overshadowed, this Saturday, by a triumphant photo of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and the announcement of a “complex meteorological situation for Sunday and Monday.” But while the official … Continue reading “‘The Problem Is Not the Ministers, It Is a Failed Model’ Summarizes a Cuban Economist”
14ymedio, Havana, February 2, 2024 — The Cuban Government announced on Friday the dismissal of Alejandro Gil Fernández as Minister of Economy and Planning. He will be replaced, according to an official report, by Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, current president of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC). This “rearrangement of staff,” as Granma says with its … Continue reading “With the Dismissal of the Minister of Economy, Gil Fernandez, the Cuban Leadership Distances Itself From the ‘Package’”
14ymedio, Havana, November 24, 2023 — The balance sheet for bancarización* (banking reform) four months after its implementation, is not optimistic: The micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are increasingly suspicious of electronic payment methods and continue to “retain cash.” The shortage of banknotes is still at its peak, and the Island’s banks are suffering … Continue reading “Private Businesses in Cuban Increasingly Distrust the Country’s Banking Reform”
14ymedio, Madrid, 6 June 2023 — The Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, arrived in Moscow in the early hours of Tuesday “to expand and consolidate bilateral relations” between Russia and the Island. The official visit will last until June 17, as noted by the official Twitter account of the Government, which has changed the background … Continue reading “Cuba’s Prime Minister Arrives in Moscow With an Entourage of Ministers and the President of the Central Bank”
14ymedio, Madrid, 3 May 2023 — This is the third consecutive week of a high-level Russian visit to Cuba. Maxim Oreshkin, economic adviser to President Vladimir Putin, met on Tuesday with the highest authorities of the Island, starting with President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who highlighted from Moscow his “enormous sensitivity to Cuba’s problems.” The Cuban president … Continue reading “Russia’s Waste of Good Intentions Towards Cuba During the Visit of Putin’s Economic Adviser”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 24 March 2023 — Prime Minister Manuel Marrero was present last Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Ministry of Economy and Planning, headed by Alejandro Gil. The extensive participation included the communist leader of the party’s productive economic department, Joel Queipo; the Minister of Finance and Prices, Meisi Bolaños; … Continue reading “Cuba’s Ministry of Economy and Planning: ‘In Six Months, It Will Be Worse Than Now’”