The American newspaper returns to the Island and gathers the testimonies of retirees, entrepreneurs, and merchants
14ymdio, Madrid, October 29, 2026 / “We went to Cuba to see how the fuel crisis is forcing Havana to open its economy.” That is how the Wall Street Journal headlined the report published Wednesday by two of its reporters, who received press visas—one of the few the Cuban regime issues. The newspaper hadn’t set foot on the island since the thaw in relations, and its presence is part of the government’s efforts in recent months to present its narrative to the American public.
The result of this trip is, for now, a video of just over 12 minutes that speaks of an emerging private sector that contrasts with an impoverished population, one that lacks family support and assistance from abroad. “We saw a Cuba growing at two speeds,” they explain.
“If you don’t have money, you starve,” summarizes Bárbara López Chávez, a retired woman interviewed for this story. The pensioner says she receives about 10,000 pesos between her pension and a small cleaning job, an amount the media calculates at $13 a month, although according to the informal exchange rate this Thursday, it’s more like $11.50.
“But nothing arrives at the bodega, my dear.”
When the reporter asks López Chávez how she can live like this and when things started getting so bad, she is emphatic: “After Fidel died, things got really bad.” It is at this moment that Yindira Cerqueda, the administrator of the soup kitchen the woman has to rely on, intercepts her. Taking her by the shoulder, Cerqueda condescendingly reprimands her: “Well, but the Revolution takes care of you,” she replies, adding that thanks to these services they are able to eat. The retiree, with a sour expression, complains: “But nothing ever arrives at the bodega [ration store], my dear,” she says, although she eventually concedes that the soup kitchen is at least a relief.
The dialogue, which takes place in the last two minutes of the video, undermines the most optimistic part of the report, which points out the opportunity that the timid opening may represent for the private sector.
The first interviewee is Oscar Fernández, who aspired to become Cuba’s largest exporter of dried fruit but has seen his plans “thwarted by US sanctions and the island’s economic collapse.” This entrepreneur explains that he began building a factory on land leased by the government, but the construction should have been finished a year ago, and now all that remains is six months without electricity and work progressing at a snail’s pace.
“In this way, what was a state-run establishment is, in fact, becoming a private business.”
Fernández is optimistic about the new measures in the Cuban economy—although he affirms that the authorities took them because there was no other option—and is confident that things will get even better. “Of course it’s going to change. We’ll be the owners of this whole company. I know it; I’m certain that things are changing. Big changes, a complete turnaround,” he maintains.
The reporter also visits a bakery that was formerly state-run but is now privately owned, and emphasizes that these types of businesses create opportunities that didn’t exist before. “About two weeks ago, the state stopped supplying the ingredients for making bread. People used to buy it for one peso a loaf and could only take one. Instead of closing, the manager decided to get the supplies himself and continue selling bread, now at 50 pesos a loaf, but allowing customers to buy as much as they want. In this way, what was a state-run establishment is, in effect, becoming a private business,” he explains.
The video features Foreign Investment Minister Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez, who smiles when asked about fuel imports from the US. “It’s ironic, yes,” he says. “It turns out that no one can sell fuel to Cuba, and the little fuel we’ve been able to receive comes from the US. And one can’t help but think that it’s a way of subjecting us to dependency. We find it completely unacceptable,” he argues. The official also admits that all kinds of goods are purchased from the neighboring country, but insists that it’s not done following standard international trade procedures—since payment is required in advance and in cash, in accordance with the embargo.
“Until now we have operated in a kind of bubble where we competed alone against state-owned companies, which gave us great advantages.”
Also of interest is the participation of Oniel Díaz Castellanos, from the consulting firm Auge, who maintains that it is common for him to receive “many requests from companies in South Florida, some of them owned by Cuban Americans, who saw a huge opportunity to supply the private sector. And that is happening on a large scale.”
Asked if the normalization of relations in the future will generate uncertainty among the island’s business leaders, the specialist smiles. “The most intelligent in the private sector do have that fear. Until now, we’ve operated in a kind of bubble where we competed alone against state-owned enterprises, which gave us significant advantages. We’ll have to compete with new actors who will arrive with more experience, greater resources, and the intention of quickly seizing the country’s opportunities,” he argues.
The Wall Street Journal reporter also touches on the informal sector. On the street, in a bank line, he encounters Fernando Pérez Hernández, an industrial engineer who sells cigarettes and coffee to those waiting in line. On a good day, he can make $10. “I’m earning here in a day what I could earn in a month with the government,” he says, to the journalist’s astonishment. The vendor maintains that he lacks the savings to start a small business and formalize his work, but he surprises when asked about the current economic liberalization. “I fear that the essence of the project will be lost.” “What is that?” the reporter inquires. “Social welfare,” he retorts.
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