Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, closed the Sixth Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) of its Tenth Legislature, held at the Convention Palace in Havana.
Below, Radio Havana Cuba publishes the full text of his address.
Address at the Closing of the Sixth Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power in its Tenth Legislature
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 Sixth Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power in its Tenth Legislature, at the Convention Palace, on December 18, 2025, “Year 67 of the Revolution.”
(Stenographic Transcripts – Presidency of the Republic)
Dear Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution;
Dear President Lazo;
Dear comrades:
I thank you all for the profound, responsible, and concise debates that allowed us to address crucial issues of our reality. Only a genuine People’s Assembly is capable of confronting, with a sense of urgency, serenity, realism, and commitment, the colossal challenges facing the nation at this moment and projecting itself into the future.
Today we discussed and approved the Economic Plan, the Budget, the Government Program to correct distortions, and the General Law on Science, Technology, and Innovation, among other issues. All of these are connected by a challenging framework of necessary tasks to address the complex current situation in the country and the risks and threats looming over the Latin American and Caribbean region.
We are living through an extremely complex moment for the economy and the daily lives of the people, which demands deeper, faster, and more responsible responses.
This is not just another crisis: it is the accumulation of distortions, adversities, difficulties, and our own mistakes, exacerbated by an extremely aggressive external blockade, in an uncertain and dangerous context for the objectives of protecting peace, promoting cooperation, and advancing social justice, among other vital issues on the international agenda.
This context has also become dangerous for the survival of multilateralism, international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the norms and practices upon which international relations have rested for eight decades.
This threat is manifested, in a singular way, in the impunity with which the genocidal crime against the Palestinian people has been and continues to be permitted. It is also expressed in the new doctrine promoted by the United States, which they call, with outrageous arrogance, “peace through strength,” but which essentially consists of imposing the arbitrary will and domination of US imperialism on everyone through threats, coercion, and even direct aggression.
The aberrant Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and the recently published US National Security Strategy leaves no doubt about the hegemonic ambitions against the peoples and nations of our America, ignoring and endangering the region as a Zone of Peace, firmly and officially proclaimed since 2014.
The text shamelessly displays the ambitions of a unipolar power already in decline. It serves the interests of large transnational corporations at the expense of the inalienable rights of the countries in the region. It openly declares the US intention to seize the resources and natural wealth belonging to sovereign nations of the Western Hemisphere and their respective peoples.
This explains the push to establish US military bases in various countries, the excessive and aggressive military presence in the Caribbean Sea, and the growing and provocative threats against Venezuela, with pretexts so untenable that they change in a matter of hours.
The Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and other shadowy figures involved in the dirty wars against the region have managed to corner the US foreign policy apparatus in a conflict that appears to have no way out or solution. The threat of open or covert war against Venezuela is a criminal act that violates international law.
The assault and hijacking of a fuel tanker and the illegal appropriation of its cargo—acts classified as piracy and maritime terrorism; the nearly 100 extrajudicial killings carried out in full view of the world through airstrikes against vessels on the high seas; the provocative incursions of US warplanes into Venezuelan airspace; the attempt to forcibly replace the Bolivarian government for the second time and impose one handpicked in Washington, as was attempted with a certain Guaidó—all these are acts contrary to international law.
The United States government has gone so far as to raise the dangerous intention of completely blocking oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. This is a brutal and risky wartime measure against a country that poses no threat to them.
This demonstrates the impotent desperation of those who have bet on the surrender of that sister nation to the violent and ruthless offensive of a cabal that has seized control of US foreign and hemispheric policy.
At the recent ALBA Summit, we had the opportunity to reaffirm our condemnation, in the strongest and most categorical terms, of the threats and aggressive actions against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and Cuba’s absolute support and solidarity with that Latin American and Caribbean nation.
Almost simultaneously, and for much longer, Cuba has been subjected to relentless economic aggression, with a criminal intensification of the blockade and the unjustified inclusion of the country on the spurious and arbitrary list of states that supposedly sponsor terrorism. This translates into constant sabotage of commercial and financial transactions with virtually every market in the world.
This is also evident in the direct and indirect actions promoted by the United States government, which we have repeatedly denounced, aimed at interfering with domestic macroeconomic performance, promoting inflation, and substantially depressing the population’s purchasing power.
Imperialist aggression has continued to use its monopoly power over the media and the technological infrastructure of digital networks to promote hopelessness and disillusionment, irritate, disorient, and confuse, fuel speculation, and erode confidence in the leadership of the Revolution, thoroughly attacking the emotional core of the Cuban nation.
Even employing the pernicious and mendacious activities of its diplomatic representative in Cuba, they persist in trying to damage ties with other governments, a goal that escalates with immoral methods in the persistent and defamatory attacks against our country’s international medical cooperation.
Even under these conditions and in a year of great challenges, the country’s authority, prestige, and history of solidarity were evident.
The resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly, once again demanding an end to the blockade, received, as always, overwhelming support from the international community, despite the underhanded tactics and brutal pressure from the United States government and the falsehoods they spread about Cuba, some of which were shamefully repeated by a very few delegations.
This has been the year in which Cuba joined the BRICS group as a Partner Country, demonstrating recognition of the role and leadership of the Cuban Revolution among the nations of the Global South.
It is also a year of conscious mobilization of solidarity movements with Cuba, political forces, popular movements, and civil society organizations across the globe, in which we have continued to strengthen ties in various regions of the world and direct foreign policy toward expanding trade and investment opportunities.
Relations with Cubans residing in other countries continue to strengthen. This past year, we have expanded our contacts with them, increased their participation in national events, and enhanced their involvement in commercial, economic, and development projects that benefit our society.
Comrades:
I now return to the many challenges we face and must resolve internally, beginning with the crucial issue of the economy.
Upon analyzing the current situation in the country, we have been realistic and self-critical, but we have also reaffirmed our confidence in the Cuban people’s capacity for resistance and victory. The homeland will not surrender! We adhere to one principle: “Unity, Continuity, and Creative Resistance.” Unity around the Party, the Revolution, and the Marxist, Martí-inspired, and Fidel-inspired ideals. Continuity of the historical legacy and the work we are building. Creative resistance to create, innovate, and move forward amidst hardship.
Today we conclude an intense, profound, and vitally important working session for the present and future of the nation. With the critical, unified, and revolutionary spirit that characterizes us, we have addressed core issues that touch the heart of the socialist project we defend and build together.
No one in Cuba needs to be told that the economy is under strain: it’s felt in the lines, in their wallets, in the blackouts, in the unreliable transportation, and in the ever-increasing cost of food. We’ve come from years of declining gross domestic product, high inflation, shortages, an energy crisis, and a drop in foreign income.
In this context, it is crucial that Parliament send a clear message: the magnitude of the crisis is acknowledged, reality is not glossed over, and, at the same time, the political will to change whatever needs changing to defend social justice and national sovereignty is reaffirmed.
Yesterday, in the Economic Commission, we had an intense debate on the urgent need to increase national production, to position it as a fundamental pillar of economic recovery.
Today, that production is hampered by distortions, shortcomings, and bureaucratic obstacles that we haven’t yet managed to eradicate, which affect both domestic consumption and exports, depriving us of significant financial resources.
A country whose finances are being relentlessly targeted is obligated to manage its foreign currency earnings with maximum efficiency, as these are essential to address problems with fuel, investments in thermal power generation, the pharmaceutical industry, public transportation, and other areas.
All analyses must identify those who have failed to meet their obligations, because their non-compliance involves millions of dollars that were allocated in the Economic Plan and on which the government was counting.
In short: accountability and a timely analysis of what is failing, with concrete solutions for each case, are imperative. As long as we fail to do this, and remain stuck in the analysis of descriptive reports and diagnoses that ultimately amount to useless post-mortem examinations, we will not resolve anything or change the current situation.
The 11th Plenum of the Central Committee starkly presented the economic situation and, at the same time, outlined a working method: macroeconomic stabilization, correction of distortions, and productive revitalization, not as slogans, but as a system of concrete decisions, with deadlines and assigned responsibilities.
There, we emphasized three ideas that we reaffirm here today:
There is no room for resigned management of the crisis.
Macroeconomic stability is not a technocratic luxury; it is a prerequisite for wages to have value, for the market to function, not for itself, but to guarantee a sustainable social policy.
The Government Program to correct distortions cannot remain merely a reference document: it must become the mandatory roadmap for all agencies, companies, and regions.
The debates of this session have confirmed the main challenges:
Reducing energy vulnerability and dependence on fuel imports.
Recovering productive capacities, especially in food, energy and basic industry, with the coordinated and committed participation of all economic actors.
Keeping the fiscal deficit and inflation under control is crucial to halting the erosion of purchasing power for wages and pensions.
Sustaining and diversifying external income, particularly from tourism, exports of goods and services, remittances, and foreign investment.
Protecting the most vulnerable sectors from the impacts of adjustments and price and subsidy corrections.
All of these objectives were already being addressed, and we must continue making decisions.
I reiterate: the transformations we must undertake are not only structural but also mental. We see it every day: things get stuck or simply don’t move forward due to a lack of flexibility or because of systems that are ineffective in these times, especially under such intense pressure.
The only limit to flexibility is anything that threatens our principles, self-determination, sovereignty, and national independence. Beyond that, we must increasingly and fearlessly promote any initiative that helps us overcome the powerful obstacles the enemy creates and move forward.
No one has written about how to build socialism in a country that emerged to true independence after more than four centuries of colonialism and 60 years of neocolonial subordination. No one but Cuba can speak of what it means to promote development with social justice under the favorable conditions of its integration into a socialist bloc that suddenly vanished. No one can tell us what it means to resist, in an exemplary fashion but at a high economic and, therefore, social cost, the infamous policy of intensified blockade and fierce persecution that Cuba faces. We, the Cuban people, are writing that history every day, right now! (Applause.)
We have analyzed and endorsed the Economic Plan and the State Budget for next year. These are tools that, far from being mere numbers, express the political will to prioritize attention to the people, investment in strategic sectors, and the constant pursuit of efficiency.
We recognize the enormous difficulties we face, aggravated by an economic, commercial, and financial blockade that is criminally suffocating us. But there is no room for defeatism here!
Our response is greater creativity, greater discipline, greater control, and a relentless fight against the burdens that hold us back: bureaucracy, indolence, and corruption.
Bureaucrats, the indolent, and the corrupt are the very antithesis of the Revolution, because their attitudes conceal a profound contempt for the people, who are the essence and meaning of the Revolution. And I’ll go further: because betrayal dwells within them.
We have seen this several times throughout history, but we have also witnessed the Revolution’s natural antidote to protect itself from traitors. And that antidote lies in the people, who sooner or later expose the fraudster’s true nature.
Members of Parliament:
Regarding the Economic Plan and Budget, we have acknowledged the challenges: inflation, GDP decline, and the energy crisis. But we have also reaffirmed that correcting distortions and revitalizing the economy is not just a slogan, but a concrete battle for the stability of daily life. This battle demands economic rigor, but also social justice, because we do not accept a model that sacrifices equity in the name of efficiency.
The Economic Plan for 2026, as analyzed here, is a plan of offensive and profound readjustment that seeks to:
Prioritize food production by removing obstacles, guaranteeing basic inputs, and above all, generating real incentives for both state and non-state producers.
Accelerate investments and operational solutions in the national power system, combining the repair of thermoelectric plants, greater efficiency, and the growth of renewable energy.
Organize and make transparent the allocation of foreign currency, so that sectors that export, substitute imports, and supply the domestic market with their own production are favored.
To give real autonomy to the socialist state enterprise to increase productivity and efficiency, demanding measurable results, without tolerating inertia or stagnation.
The challenge for 2026 is not only to fulfill the Plan, but to demonstrate that the Plan translates into visible changes in the territories and in the lives of the people.
Regarding the Budget that we approved in this session, focused on food production, essential services, and social programs, it must be executed with transparency and rigor, and it is our responsibility to diligently ensure that this happens.
As has been seen, this Budget starts from severe constraints, but it preserves the priority of health, education, social security, and protection for the most vulnerable. The transition from subsidies for products to subsidies for people must be done carefully, transparently, and with participation, so as not to leave anyone without support.
From the Assembly, we must demand:
That every peso of the Budget has verifiable productive or social backing.
We must drastically reduce unproductive spending, projects that don’t add value, and structures that don’t generate results.
Local governments must assume greater responsibility for revenue collection and the efficient use of resources.
This isn’t about making cuts for the sake of cutting; it’s about making cuts so we can continue to redistribute wealth fairly.
At the heart of our discussions has also been the Government Program to correct distortions in the economy. This is not a technical adjustment; it is a revolutionary necessity to perfect the socialism under construction, making it more prosperous, sustainable, and just.
We understand the concerns and the impacts that some measures may have on daily life. But, as has been explained in this forum and throughout the country, inaction would be the greatest risk. We must bring order to what is disordered, properly value our work, stimulate productive effort, and put an end to illegal activities and imbalances.
This program is a call for the conscious participation of all, for every Cuban, from their own position, to be a protagonist of rectification and progress.
The Government Program to correct distortions and revitalize the economy has clear objectives: to regulate prices and tariffs, confront the exchange rate chaos, improve the relationship between the state and non-state sectors, incentivize production, and protect those who have the least. All of this will be refined through the grassroots debates currently underway.
The Government Program we have approved seeks precisely that: to correct distortions, strengthen socialist state-owned enterprises as engines of development, and open space for all forms of management that contribute to collective well-being. We cannot allow dual currency, a lack of productive incentives, or bureaucracy to hinder the people’s efforts.
The problem is no longer a lack of diagnosis, but rather the speed and consistency of implementation. Therefore, based on these conclusions, it is necessary to emphasize:
Each agency, company, and local government must present concrete timelines for program implementation, with quarterly targets and public accountability.
Measures that prove ineffective or counterproductive must be rectified without dogma, with political humility and technical agility.
Communication with the people must be prioritized and addressed: explaining what is being done, why it is being done, what effects are expected, and within what timeframes. We lack innovation in communication as a science. It’s not about saying it, it’s about knowing how to say it.
A program that is not understood or controlled ends up being perceived as a series of improvisations. To avoid this, it is essential to refine and strengthen it with input from the public consultation that is already underway.
Members of Parliament:
These past few days we have debated and approved the General Law on Science, Technology, and Innovation, an essential legal instrument for charting the course toward technological sovereignty and the development we need. We must make science and innovation the driving force behind every sector of society. This Law is a firm step in that direction, so that the knowledge created by our talented people translates into solutions, efficiency, and well-being.
Science cannot remain confined to laboratories; it must become practical solutions for production, energy, health, and the daily lives of the people.
The country does not have infinite reserves of material resources, but it does have reserves of scientific, technical, and academic talent that are not always utilized.
Key economic decisions must be based on evidence, studies, modeling, and impact assessment. It is essential to shorten the gap between research and production: university-business-local communities must be part of the same innovation cycle. Innovation is not only technological; it is also organizational, managerial, participatory, communicative, and related to social oversight.
Science and innovation must cease to be mere complements and become engines of the economic change we need.
Fellow citizens:
The challenges Cuba faces in 2025 and 2026 will only be resolved through concrete work, systematic oversight, and active popular participation. The 11th Plenum and this very session of the Assembly agree on one idea: it is not enough to approve; we must implement, and it is not enough to implement; we must be accountable.
From this Assembly, we must assume several political commitments:
Strengthen the connection of each deputy with their constituents by communicating, listening, explaining, and gathering concrete proposals to inform public policies.
Fight head-on against bureaucracy, corruption, waste, the misappropriation of resources, and the lack of sensitivity to the people’s problems.
Strengthen unity not as uncritical unanimity, but as the building of consensus through responsible debate and participation.
The country is experiencing a severe crisis, but it is not defeated and will never be defeated (Applause). Cuba’s history demonstrates that when the political leadership, the institutions, and the people work together, with truth, discipline, and creativity, no blockade or crisis can steal our future.
The decision to postpone the 9th Party Congress cannot be seen as a setback. It is a necessary and timely decision that will allow us to unite our forces, improve the nation’s situation, increase the people’s confidence, and create the conditions for a better and more productive congress, one that will consolidate, as the Constitution affirms, the construction of socialism and the advance toward a communist society. This is what the General of the Army has called us to do!
This decision will be an opportunity to dedicate 2026 to recovering as much as possible and to making progress in fulfilling our commitments.
It will also allow us to implement the necessary adjustments to the structures of the Party, the Government, and the State to facilitate, without haste, the exchange of opinions and perspectives that this process demands.
All the strength and energy of the Party, the State, and the Government, together with the people, must be dedicated to improving the country’s situation:
By advancing the implementation of the approved economic measures with discipline and control; by strengthening support for territories affected by natural disasters; by promoting youth participation in all areas of national life; by intensifying the ideological, cultural, and communications battle; and by defending the truth about Cuba against manipulation and disinformation.
During this period, the public debate on the Government Program, aimed at strengthening it, must also conclude, and we will continue implementing the actions necessary to achieve its objectives.
Furthermore, we will continue working on the drafting of the documents that, after public consultation, will be debated in Congress and which are already well advanced.
We close this session with the conviction that the National Assembly has been and will be up to the task of fulfilling its historic responsibility (Applause). It is now up to us to transform what we have approved here into reality. May every law, every plan, and every budget become tangible actions in people’s lives. May science and innovation translate into concrete solutions. May the economy regain its vitality without sacrificing social justice.
Let us never neglect unity, “the apple of our eye,” as the Army General and leader of the Revolution, Comrade Raúl, has called it. That is our greatest strength in the face of all threats.
We trust in our capacity for the revolutionary offensive, in our resilience, and in our creativity, and no one will be able to defeat us (Applause). As I said at the 11th Plenum, the greatest gain lies in the quality of the discussions and in the superior way we address problems when they are directly impactful. We are fully committed to solving these problems and charting a course to overcome them.
The decisions we make cannot remain confined to press summaries. They must be seen in the improvement of daily life in the country.
That will be the true test of the shared and assumed commitment, the true measure of the transformative power of this Parliament and of the vitality of the Cuban Revolution.
Here, in the National Assembly, the Assembly of the Cuban people, with its talented young people, its women and men from the most diverse professions and trades, white, black, and mixed-race, seasoned in a thousand battles, critical and committed, the Cuban Revolution beats, alive and active!
The greatest proof of its existence is precisely the relentless efforts of its enemies to suffocate it and destroy it down to its very foundations.
This Assembly has the honor of submitting a proposal of profound patriotic and revolutionary significance. Inspired by the enduring legacy of our leader and by the call for unity and continuity, and echoing the sentiments expressed in recent times by several compatriots, Mr. President Lazo, we propose that the year 2026 be officially proclaimed as the “Year of the Centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.”
This will be the year to study his thought more deeply, to emulate his example of tireless work, fidelity to principles, and absolute trust in the people and in the victory of ideas.
May every task we undertake in 2026, from the most complex economic transformations to the simplest gesture of solidarity, be imbued with Fidel’s fighting spirit, his profound love for the people, and his unwavering commitment to social justice.
This will be the most fitting way to honor the man whose centenary calls us to be better, to defend what we have achieved, and to build the future with optimism.
We leave this session with clear mandates and an immense responsibility. The path is not easy, but it is ours, the one we chose with sovereignty and dignity. The key lies in turning every problem into a solution, every limitation into a reason to create, and every threat into a reason to unite more closely.
We will not let our guard down. We will deepen the ideological and cultural battle, defend our achievements, and work tirelessly for the sovereign and prosperous country this people deserves.
The task is complex, but the will of this people is invincible.
The National Assembly, united in its determination to safeguard independence, sovereignty, and the Revolution from the many dangers that threaten us today, cannot be separated from the history that brought us here, overcoming trials that seemed impossible.
Let us say it loud and clear, with the conviction of that December 18, 1956, when the two brothers embraced and, after counting the few survivors and the scant rifles gathered at their reunion, the older brother said without a shadow of a doubt: “Now we have won the war!”
And today, here, we reaffirm that: Now we have won the war!
This is the people of Fidel and Raúl: conquerors of the impossible!
May 2026, the Centennial Year of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, find us fighting and more united than ever!
¡Viva Cuba Libre!
¡Viva la Revolución!
¡Vivan Fidel y Raúl!
¡Socialismo o Muerte!
¡Patria o Muerte!
¡Venceremos!
Long live Free Cuba!
Long live the Revolution!
Long live Fidel and Raúl!
Socialism or Death!
Homeland or Death!
We shall overcome!
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
