In an opinion piece published by Havana Times, Cuban writer Ariel Hidalgo criticizes President Miguel Díaz-Canel's reform proposals and calls for a radical change by intervening in the state itself.
Ariel Hidalgo's opinion piece, titled 'Cuba: It's Time to Intervene in the State Itself,' questions the viability of President Miguel Díaz-Canel's reform proposals to address Cuba's deep economic crisis. He argues that no rational foreign investor would trust projects involving the Cuban state, quoting José Martí: “Two condors or two lambs can unite without as much danger as a condor and a lamb.” Hidalgo notes Fidel Castro's admission that the model “does not even work for Cubans,” and that in 1968, the expropriation of small businesses marked the end of the revolutionary phase and the start of failed reforms. He attributes the model's failures to a “gigantic, uncontrollable civilian-military bureaucratic caste” managing the economy without productivity incentives, creating conflicts between workers, bureaucrats, and the party-state leadership of some 20-30 officials. Hidalgo advocates a “new revolution” allowing investors to operate without state interference beyond taxes, freeing markets from price controls, and enabling workers to share profits and elect managers via workers' councils. He calls for compensating heirs of confiscated properties and for workers to “confiscate” from the state by forming councils to run enterprises, drawing from Jorge Mas Canosa's ideas. Such a system, he claims, would incentivize millions, raising Cuba “like the Phoenix, from the rubble and toward the stars.” The piece appeared on Havana Times on March 16, 2026.
