By Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez on July 31, 2026
Foto: Abel Padrón Padilla/ Cubadebate.
Speech delivered by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the closing of the Seventh Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power in its 10th Legislature, at the Convention Center, on July 30, 2026, “Year of the Centennial of Year of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.”
Dear Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution;
Dear female and male deputies:
I wish to begin my remarks today, on Martyrs’ Day, with the Assembly’s well-deserved tribute to Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, a deputy of this Legislature and of all previous ones since the founding of Parliament in 1976 (Applause).
Ramiro, a symbol of the Centennial Generation, is one of the paragons of the Revolution alongside Fidel, Raúl, Che, Almeida, Guillermo, and others—a list that would be endless—who represent an invaluable legacy of ethical, moral, and patriotic values and qualities that demand our attention at such a crucial moment for our nation.
Like his comrades from that historic generation—whose legacy we are honored and committed to carrying forward—Ramiro leaves us an extraordinary legacy: devoted body and soul to the great cause he helped found, working and fighting until his last breath. He confirms for us that for a revolutionary there is no rest, neither in action nor in the dreams that inspire that action. A model of humility, he embodies that idea of Martí—so deeply embraced by Fidel—that “all the glory of the world fits into a grain of corn.” He promoted unity around the Party, always demonstrated unwavering firmness in the face of imperialism, and took to heart Che’s great warning that imperialism cannot be trusted—not even a little bit.
I do not speak of Ramiro in the past tense, because there can be no farewell for him. I recall his example among us—servants of the people and defenders of the Revolution—to highlight the significance of his work, but above all for the inspiration he leaves us in the face of today’s colossal challenges.
Comrades:
The months that have passed between the previous Regular Session, in December 2025, and the one we are now closing have been marked by an extremely complex and threatening scenario, reminiscent of a besieged fortress.
Since the treacherous military aggression against Venezuela and the kidnapping of its legitimate President on January 3 of this year, the very concept of a law-based world is being completely erased, threatening to turn the planet into a far more anarchic and insecure place than it already was as a result of the ferocious advance of neoliberal capitalism.
The neo-fascist regime currently in power in the United States is shamelessly reenacting some of the horrors unleashed by German fascism in the first half of the 20th century in its drive for expansion.
The points of convergence between these two regimes are becoming increasingly alarmingly dangerous for the fate of humanity and world peace.
Xenophobia, nationalist exceptionalism, lies as an instrument of domination, the cult of personality, the outlawing of opposing ideologies, the trampling of cultures, the conquest of territories and the plundering of their natural resources, and the collective punishment of large populations do not distinguish between them; rather, they increasingly link Hitlerian fascism—which is showing signs of reemerging—with the current regime.
Let us not forget that part of the world looked the other way while the horrors of genocide were unfolding in Gaza, and history will record the impunity and cruelty with which that people are still being massacred and their culture is being systematically eradicated.
United Nations agencies estimate that between 75,000 and 90,000 residents of the Gaza Strip lost their lives as a result of the war. About 60% of the victims are innocent women and children, in addition to the more than 10,000 people missing under the rubble of bombed-out buildings.
Not content with their wickedness, the perpetrators of this crime forced the displacement of nearly 2 million people into a narrow strip of about 35 to 40 square kilometers, raising the population density to extreme levels of between 30,000 and 40,000 people per square kilometer—a situation that is unsustainable in terms of shelter, water, sanitation, and healthcare.
It is essential and urgent to recognize the gravity of these events: any of our nations could become another Gaza.
Even as this genocide has not yet fully ceased, attempts are being made to repeat it against more than 9 million Cubans through an economic blockade and an energy blockade, which have pushed the suffering of the Cuban people to extreme levels, practically incompatible with the basic needs of modern life.
The cynical and deceitful architects of this criminal policy deny the existence of the energy blockade. They make no mention of the Executive Order signed by the U.S. President on January 29, 2026, in which he threatens to penalize any nation that supplies fuel to Cuba.
This action is part of the U.S. government’s demonstrated capacity to subjugate the will of sovereign states through coercion and intimidation using trade tariffs, which effectively compels virtually all countries to participate—voluntarily or involuntarily—in the economic blockade against Cuba.
Due to this arbitrary policy, Cuba has received only one fuel shipment in the last seven months.
The economic and social implications of this collective punishment are humanly unbearable.
The blockade on the import of diesel or fuel oil has prevented the National Electric Power System from having, each day, approximately 1,400 megawatts available through so-called distributed generation—a sector that in previous months had received significant investment for its recovery and optimization.
While it is true that these capacities would not have completely eliminated the current, extremely disruptive power outages, it is obvious that they would have significantly reduced their duration.
The impact of the oil blockade on electricity supply to Cuban households brings other major problems for Cuban families, such as disruptions in water pumping, which prolong the supply cycles of this essential resource.
Due to the lack of fuels and lubricants, we have seen agricultural harvests and planting for the coming months affected much more severely. Most industrial production processes have also come to a standstill.
Tourism, the most dynamic source of fresh revenue, is seriously affected by the targeting of international markets, the lack of fuel for international aviation, and threats to hotel companies operating in Cuba.
The healthcare system—including its intensive care units and the increasingly limited surgical procedures—faces the constant threat of power outages that endanger patients’ lives.
Added to all this are the weeks and months that thousands of containers—carrying medical supplies, food, photovoltaic equipment, parts, and materials to address problems at power plants, among other resources essential to sustaining the country’s vitality—have been stranded in international ports, all due to threats against shipping companies—the very same ones that transported private-sector imports such as raw materials or basic necessities sold directly on the domestic market.
I have mentioned only a few of the economic and social effects of this fascist blockade, which leaves no doubt about the perversity and contempt with which the United States treats the Cuban people, and the extreme cruelty with which it attempts to subjugate them and use them in its quest to overthrow the Revolution.
Cuban medical cooperation is being targeted—based on repugnant fallacies—in order to cut off a major source of funding that sustained the free and universal public health system, and the effects of these measures are becoming increasingly acute due to the shortage of supplies and resources essential to this vital Cuban sector.
But the imperialists are not content with the energy blockade or with cutting off our legitimate sources of financial income as much as possible; they also persecute, attack, and coerce any form of foreign investment and trade.
The Executive Order of May 1, 2026, threatens foreign individuals and companies—regardless of their country of origin—with secondary sanctions on their personal accounts, U.S. visas, and other consequences if they maintain any type of commercial relationship with Cuba.
We are witnessing the most extensive and profound expression of a ruthless effort, on the part of the world’s greatest power, to sever the economy of a small island nation from the rest of the world’s economy.
While this genocide against the Cuban people is underway, its perpetrators brazenly lie to the world, denying their crimes.
They lie with such brazenness that they are not even capable of justifying or convincing representatives of that nation before the federal Congress of their lies. In recent days, the honest concerns of some members of Congress—who refuse to be complicit in the crime and question the blockade and threats of aggression against Cuba with a dignity lacking in the führer’s apprentices of the current administration—have gone viral on social media.
The admirable stance of these lawmakers—as well as that of The People’s Forum, Pastors for Peace, Code Pink, and other U.S. organizations that have stood in solidarity with Cuba for decades—reminds us of the moving reflections that the support of the noblest elements of the American people always evoked in Fidel. Once they know the truth, the American people will undoubtedly take the right side.
The blockade, according to our calculations and those of international organizations, has cost Cuba a cumulative total of more than 150,000 million dollars. This is not an abstract figure; it is reflected in every aspect of our daily lives.
The special session of the United Nations General Assembly, held on July 7, demonstrated the international community’s widespread condemnation of this aggressive policy. The U.S. attempt to block the debate was overwhelmingly rejected by a vote of 136 to 9.
And just as the empire lies and manipulates, it boasts of its aid to the Cuban people. There can be no greater cynicism or malice than depriving a people of the means to meet their most pressing needs, only to then boast of aid that in no way covers the enormous daily cost generated by the genocidal blockade of the island.
Can anyone really believe that this plan of collective suffocation is merely a surgical strike against the government and its leaders? The facts clearly show that its objectives are to provoke social unrest, to divide, and to strike at the very heart of the Cuban people.
As historians and analysts have noted, the United States’ plan against Cuba is comparable, in its objectives and perversity, only to Weyler’s reconcentration campaign, which decimated the Cuban population through starvation. That is the history from which we come—and from which we draw the will to triumph as well!
Compatriots:
Faced with the complex scenario I have described, how can we persist in building socialism? How can we find the material and financial resources to maintain the social gains of the Revolution? Just as in previous, particularly complex stages—such as the Special Period, when, under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief and later under the leadership of the Army General, the economic model was transformed to adapt it to challenging external circumstances, in the current context we have set out to undertake the transformations demanded by the moment, under the Party’s leadership, in a collegial and democratic manner, in consultation with the people, without compromising independence, national sovereignty, or the social gains of the Revolution.
The 176 measures approved for Economic and Social Transformation are fully consistent with the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines adopted in 2011 at the Sixth Party Congress.
Furthermore, they reflect the popular opinion gathered in the thousands of assemblies held throughout the country when, in late 2025, the Government Program—already approved by this Parliament in December—was put to a public consultation.
In the days following their approval, we have been attentive to public opinion regarding these measures and have engaged in discussions with various comrades from different institutions. Therefore, we are aware that there are legitimate and sincere concerns regarding the limits on the growth of private capital, the concentration of wealth and capital in the hands of a single individual, issues related to surface rights, usufruct, and real estate transactions, the possibility of privatizing state-owned enterprises, the widening and normalization of inequality, the elimination of subsidies for services that are highly sensitive for the population, transparency in asset bidding processes, the role of the market, the potential ideological impact of capitalist relations, and the lack of mechanisms for popular participation and oversight to combat negative effects and corruption. All these issues require our utmost attention to prevent distortions.
The transformations we are implementing today are not intended to further capitalism, but to defend and advance the construction of socialism—a socialism that places human beings at the center of its work.
Popular participation and oversight are not a thing of the past; rather, they constitute an ongoing line of work and cannot remain merely a slogan. In the immediate term, we will engage in a process of discussion within the Party’s structures alongside workers to debate, clarify, mobilize, contribute, optimize, and make corrections as we go, in real time.
The effective implementation of these transformations is a strategic priority for the nation, and we must all understand this with a sense of national responsibility. They entail changes that are not without risks, but taking on a challenge is the first step toward overcoming it.
Implementing them requires a gradual approach, learning, and the awareness that things may not go perfectly from the start, but everything will be resolved if we are driven by a constant willingness to rectify, modify, and adjust whatever is necessary—promptly and without bureaucratic red tape.
At this point, I would like to acknowledge the thorough and agile work of the various groups involved, both in developing the content of the reforms and in establishing their legislative framework. Thanks to this, we can say today that 120 of these reforms are already ready to be implemented.
We have prioritized those that promote the liberation of the productive forces, those that strengthen the business sector—including state-owned and non-state-owned enterprises—as an integrated business framework within our Economic and Social Model, with harmonious relationships among them, as well as those that facilitate the autonomy of municipalities and socialist state-owned enterprises.
If we work effectively, we can immediately revive a range of production activities and services that directly benefit the people, with a greater supply and a better balance between wages and prices, as well as increase exports and much-needed foreign exchange earnings.
To this end, we will promote incentives for investment, economic partnerships between the state, private, and cooperative sectors, and alliances that allow us to harness capacities and potential that are currently underutilized.
This is a collective effort aimed at achieving greater social protection, and it demands the utmost discipline and maximum efficiency.
This Assembly has taken a fundamental step by approving five legal regulations that support more than twenty ongoing transformations. The approval and immediate implementation of these regulations are in line with the principle of building everything with legal certainty, as a guarantee for those undertaking these processes. This is a phase in which we cannot stagnate and in which we must continue moving forward.
Many will ask themselves in the neighborhood, in line, in the fields, in the workshop: What do these regulations contribute to the shortages we face? The answer is clear: they are the legal shield for the everyday heroism of our people. These are not cold, impersonal regulations; they are the engine driving the transformations necessary for prosperity. They are the instrument that turns creative resistance into tangible victory, protecting the rights we have won while we forge new paths toward the future.
They represent the necessary balance to preserve the social gains that define us as a Revolution, while opening up spaces for the initiative and creativity that the Cuban economy needs to thrive. It is, in short, what Fidel called “changing everything that must be changed.” All this legislative effort would be a dead letter without the everyday heroism of the people to whom we belong.
As we have already stated—and I wish to reaffirm once again in no uncertain terms—these transformations are not being adopted to please the United States; they do not respond to any demands arising from the limited dialogue we have conducted during this period. They are the result of a sovereign decision by Cuba (Applause).
Key to their implementation is developing the concept of genuine People’s Power, which entails accountability, community-based actions aimed at solving problems, transparency, participatory budgeting, broad worker management in the workplace, popular control, spaces for public debate, the coordination of all economic actors in local and territorial development strategies, and the widespread adoption of the best practices in community work.
It will not be enough to rely on general direction from the central level, nor on coordination at the provincial level. The decisive factor will be achieving effective operational execution at the territorial and community levels.
I want to draw attention to the importance of decentralizing the economic powers granted to the provinces, but particularly to the municipalities. Let no one expect a magic solution to come from outside. Everything depends, first and foremost and increasingly, on ourselves, on our own efforts, and on everyone who wants to join in.
We must break the inertia, overcome obstacles, change mindsets, do away with pointless bureaucracy, and resolutely tackle corruption as quickly as possible.
I repeat: economic and social recovery—the two must go hand in hand. To be clearer, gradual economic recovery must lead us, to the same extent, to social recovery, prioritizing the most vulnerable and the sectors with the greatest need.
In other words, economic efficiency must serve social justice, which encapsulates much of the meaning of the Revolution and its commitment to the people.
We are not going to establish predatory capitalism or carry out a massive privatization of the national heritage, as some fear. Nothing could be further from the spirit of these transformations.
There will be no—and this must be made very clear—privatization of health care, education, science, culture, or services that are strategic to the nation. What does exist is the political will to reclaim them all, to generate revenue and wealth in order to raise them to higher standards of quality, making them free and universal.
In this complex process of strategic importance for the nation, the vanguard role of the Communist Party of Cuba as the supreme leading force of society and the State will be decisive.
This requires updating and innovating in all matters related to the Party’s role, Party membership, and the role of Party members in socialist state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and the community, as well as stimulating and fostering ongoing spaces for theoretical and practical debate on everyday issues and refining and updating the operational dynamics of mass and social organizations.
An increasingly high standard of ethical conduct is required of all of us who hold leadership responsibilities, a standard that must guide every decision we make.
This Assembly represents our heroic people. It is the institutionalized voice of a nation that does not kneel, does not yield, and does not surrender (Applause).
When Martí wrote that the homeland is either human or it is not, he was not calling for a state that governs over the people, but rather a state that governs from within the people. This Assembly must be the embodiment of that dream; it is, and it will continue to be so (Applause).
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the experiences we have observed during our visits and exchanges in communities, municipalities, and provinces over the past weeks and months.
Amid the complex energy landscape we are facing, there has been an increase in the number of state-owned and private entities that have incorporated renewable energy sources into their operations; indeed, many of them have even provided their services to the public.
Progress is being made at the local level to ensure that key economic and social objectives are supported by renewable energy sources, based on a national government program, but also through the participation and contributions of various management models.
Regarding water supply—which is so challenging these days—we must acknowledge the state-owned and private companies that have made their water transportation resources available to various communities, in addition to initiatives to create new reservoirs. Similar approaches are being applied, albeit on a limited scale, to solid waste collection in several communities.
On another particularly complex issue—the availability of cash, which primarily affects payments to workers and, most critically, to retirees—solutions are being implemented with the participation of state entities through their reserve funds and non-state entities that have stepped forward to collaborate in this effort.
I would also like to highlight the improved situation of the so-called Family Assistance System, resulting from structural reforms and improvements in its food assistance program for the most vulnerable, in which various economic actors have also been involved.
Support for the more than 32 social programs aimed at assisting vulnerable individuals and families is having a positive impact, fostering a sense of collective solidarity at the community level—something we must acknowledge, encourage, and expand.
We face many challenges, which will persist until we succeed in alleviating the difficult conditions we are currently experiencing; however, there are positive initiatives that are making a difference, and we have a duty to expand them.
It is only fair to acknowledge the intensity of the work carried out at the neighborhood and People’s Council levels during these difficult months, with the direct participation of cadres from the Party, the State, the Government, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and the Ministry of the Interior, as well as the Union of Young Communists, mass and social organizations, and the business and administrative sectors—often working late into the night and into the early hours of the morning.
Deputies:
The Revolution is under military threat from the U.S. fascist regime, which—as we have warned and maintain—would only bring terrible and unpredictable consequences for regional peace and an unnecessary loss of Cuban and American lives, which we never wish to see.
There is nothing—absolutely nothing—that justifies either aggression or threats. The plans against Cuba are based on false premises and fueled by the crudest lies and manipulations.
With just as many—if not more—lies, they are attempting to construct a pretext for military aggression against Cuba, based on the ridiculous and pathetic narrative that this small, underdeveloped island is a threat to U.S. national security.
This is how the empire operates: it not only destroys, but also constructs the discursive framework to make that destruction seem deserved and inevitable.
Faced with this potential scenario, we will not stand idly by. We do not want a war with the United States; we are a peaceful people.
The U.S. government is fully aware of Cuba’s willingness to find, through dialogue, a solution to bilateral differences and to move toward a relationship of mutual understanding based on respect for our sovereign rights.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, there is a palpable political shift toward the far right. The promising advances achieved in recent decades in defense of sovereign rights and in favor of regional integration and cooperation have given way to manifestations of subordination—under pressure from U.S. imperialism, submission to the interests of a great power, and the predisposition of right-wing elitist governments that have surrendered to transnational big capital, divorced from the needs of their peoples.
Even in this context, we have the support and solidarity of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples, and we enjoy fraternal relations with several of the region’s governments.
The old shadows of McCarthyism and the Cold War loom over our hemisphere, driven by reactionary and ultra-conservative sectors in the United States. The history is well known, no matter how much some may wish to hide it. The human cost—in repression, murders, disappearances, and lives shattered under the yoke of the fascist and oppressive dictatorships that flourished in the region during that period—should serve as a lesson for new generations.
Recently, there has been an effort to criminalize Cuba’s genuine history of solidarity with just causes and peoples who aspire to a better world, as well as to target open expressions of solidarity, friendship, and support for Cuba from every corner of the globe, including the United States.
The propaganda pamphlet published by the State Department that declares Cuba the capital of 21st-century communism is the most recent attempt to turn history on its head.
In the face of these new schemes, we firmly reaffirm that nothing will divert us from our committed path of solidarity, internationalism, and anti-imperialism (Applause). These are part of our identity, as is our commitment to building relationships of friendship and cooperation with all countries and peoples.
Comrades;
Beloved people of Cuba:
The path is difficult, the situation is complex, but our will to prevail is unshakable (Applause). We are neither a nation in dispute nor a colony; we are a sovereign people who have determined our own destiny (Applause).
History has taught us that, in the darkest moments, when the empire tightens its grip and difficulties seem insurmountable, the Cuban people find in their unity the strength to overcome them.
That is what Fidel bequeathed to us: the conviction that there is no situation, however complicated it may seem, without a possible way out. And we find that way out when we combine intelligence with the heart, when we work with dedication.
We are just a few days away from a date of profound significance for Cuban revolutionaries and people around the world: the centennial of the Commander-in-Chief.
As I prepared these closing remarks for this session—which will inevitably go down in history if we succeed in bringing the ongoing transformations to a successful conclusion—I reflected on Fidel’s extraordinary legacy, which, ten years after his passing, continues to inspire us, challenge us, and drive us to change everything that must be changed—on our own and through our own efforts.
But we already knew that. What is truly significant is the way in which his enemies—those who organized more assassination attempts against Fidel’s life than against any other world leader—continue to point to the Commander-in-Chief as the guide of the global left, the very same left they claim no longer exists (Applause).
In this, the imperialists are not mistaken. Fidel’s ideas are sprouting anew with surprising vitality among people of all generations, from every continent, and from the most diverse political schools of thought. Fidel is no longer just ours; he is growing in stature and multiplying.
Fidel lives on and promises to continue fighting battles for a better world! (Applause.)
Long live Fidel and Raúl! (Shouts of: “Long live!”)
Eternal glory to the martyrs of the homeland! (Shouts of: “Glory!”)
Long live free Cuba! (Shouts of: “Long live!”)
Socialism or Death!
Fatherland or Death!
We shall prevail! (Shouts of: “We shall prevail!”)
(Ovation.)
Source: Cubadebate, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English