By Marxlenin Pérez Valdés
Transcript of the television program “Cuadrando la Caja,” October 26, 2025.
Dr. Marxlenin Pérez: Hola! How are you? It’s great to be back with you on “Cuadrando la Caja,” a television program for debating, questioning, and reaching consensus from a Cuban socialist perspective. Today we’re going to talk about whether or not the blockade is the main obstacle to Cuba’s economic development. Joining us are Vivian Herrera, Director General of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX), and Dr. Luis Marcelo Yera, a researcher at the National Institute of Economic Research (INIE).
I want to begin by recalling an article that’s been circulating, especially on social media. Eight economists, seven of whom don’t live in Cuba, told EFE that the embargo is not the main obstacle to the country’s economic development, and some even went so far as to say it has no influence whatsoever. What do you think? I’ll start with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX).
Vivian Herrera Sid, Esq.: Most of the Cuban population was born during the U.S. government’s embargo. It not only causes us hardship and shortages, but in recent times it has intensified due to the more than 200 measures taken by the U.S. administration to ruthlessly and genocidally erode the gains of these 60-plus years of the Revolution, provoke discontent among the population, and thus a social explosion that could lead to the repeal of the Constitution and much more.
If you ask me, from my perspective as a Cuban, not from a professional standpoint, whether the blockade has an effect and whether it’s real or not, I would certainly say YES. Today we face numerous challenges, many of them accumulated precisely because of the damage caused by our inability to access financial resources and certain commercial transactions. This has negatively impacted our ability to serve key sectors of the economy. And these realities, which affect all Cubans, have been exploited to mask, to sugarcoat, the half-truths that poisonously circulate on social media.
The blockade does exist; it is a reality. We will never forget the darkest moments of the COVID-19 pandemic, when, through the machinations of the United States government, we were denied certain imports of ventilators. The wisdom and resilience of our professionals helped, but lives were lost. There were resources, medications that didn’t arrive precisely because of the political and genocidal obstinacy of the United States government against the Cuban people — because that’s the truth. Thanks to the help of friendly countries, we were able to overcome some difficulties. I’m referring to imports of resources, medicines at that time, even syringes for vaccination.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: These are concrete examples.
Ms. Vivian Herrera Sid: The blockade is discussed and almost considered a normal topic, because we have lived under it for more than 60 years. The economic and social effects that the blockade is causing right now are because they have surgically targeted where to inflict the most damage.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: Luis, is the blockade the main reason why we are in this state of economic decline?
Dr. C. Luis Marcelo Yera: I am convinced that the blockade is the main obstacle preventing our country from achieving economic development.
In the reports from the agencies that contribute to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ central report, many of these agencies identify the United States as a market with very good deals on raw materials and supplies from a price perspective. Not everything is advantageous, but there is a relative advantage in the prices of raw materials in the US market. The same is true for exports to that market, and there are also generally very good prices. What happens, then, assuming that our economic model, which as we all know is still under construction, is already established, we will face our first difficulty. Let’s compare ourselves, for example, with businesses in the Dominican Republic. They don’t have these limitations and can acquire these raw materials; they can export to the US market at the normally established prices. Cuba doesn’t have that possibility. The challenge arises of how we are going to overcome this situation, because the blockade has been in place for a long time, no one knows when it will end, and we have to find alternatives to circumvent it.
They don’t have these limitations and can acquire those raw materials; they can export to the North American market at the normally established prices. Cuba doesn’t have that possibility. The challenge is how we’re going to overcome this situation, because the blockade has been in place for a long time, no one knows when it might end, and we have to find alternatives to circumvent the obstacles it imposes. But due to geographical reasons and the efficiency of the U.S. economy, there are advantages there that we can’t take advantage of, preventing us from having the opportunities that other countries in the region, or even the world, have.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: Yes, because of its proximity and the characteristics of such a large market, the United States would naturally be an ideal trading partner for our country.
Ms. Vivian Herrera Sid: If we add to that the cost savings that this would imply in terms of freight. A few years ago, we were studying a document prepared by Americans in the trade sector, which illustrated with figures how advantageous it would be to trade with Cuba.
And when we were working on welcoming President Obama, they sent a group of specialists to educate — and that was the word, “educate” — the president. We were surprised by the lack of understanding, because the blockade isn’t just against the Cuban people, against the Cuban economy; it also implies total isolation from Cuban reality. We were stunned, realizing the extent of the ignorance surrounding Cuban reality. I’m talking about the Cuban economic reality, trade and other factors related to trade.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: Of course, because the blockade has multiple facets and consequences, right? And one of the least explored concerns the consequences for Americans themselves, which is, on the one hand, a lack of information, and also censorship regarding the reality.
Ms. Vivian Herrera Sid: And the demonization of propaganda about the Cuban Revolution.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: Exactly. With the aim of isolating and creating caricatures of what is really happening in Cuba, but which is also affecting the business sector of that very country, right?
Vivian Herrera Sid: Reinforced by measures that exacerbate the shortages, the deficiencies, and then it is said, as in that article you mentioned, that the problem is something else. We cannot forget that we are managing a crisis, but we have been managing it for many years, and the more the measures of the blockade — financial, economic, commercial — are intensified, the more immediate the management has to be, and under these conditions it is very difficult for an economy to develop; first, to sustain itself, and then to develop, under conditions as difficult as those imposed by the blockade.
I don’t know of any other country that has been subjected to this type of attrition policy for so many years, because since the Monroe Doctrine, the policy of “ripe fruit,” they are waiting for that moment to arrive and are increasingly convinced that that moment is near. And that’s where this tactic comes in: not only reinforcing measures and restrictions, persecuting all Cuban economic and financial activity, but also pressuring third countries, even allies, to make that moment happen as soon as possible.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: It’s a policy of harassment, of persecution inside and outside the country. That needs to be emphasized, because there are countries with economies similar to Cuba’s that don’t have a blockade, not even a partial one, like Cuba has had for over six decades.
Let’s take a short break to hear what the Guru of Jatibonico has to say about today’s topic.
Guru of Jatibonico
I know some shady characters
for whom the social aspect
is just that personal
thing that lines their pockets.
With that kind of crook,
greedy in their desires,
that ugly blockade-manager
intends to silence
with the money of Judas
the cruelties of the blockade.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: Before the program ends, I want to return to the topic of foreign trade and bank financing, but I think we also need to emphasize, Luis, what to do despite the blockade, because, without a doubt, we can’t just sit around waiting for the United States to lift it. We know they won’t, because it’s a policy that perfectly suits them in trying to achieve the objectives that the ruling elite of that country has set for itself for decades.
Dr. Luis Marcelo Yera: Well, our country isn’t sitting idly by. There are a whole series of measures in place to untangle the knots that bind our economy. In the business sector, closed financing schemes have been reinstated, and there’s a whole program with specific state-owned enterprises that are best positioned to break the knots that bind us, because we’re talking about the main player in our economy.
If we don’t manage to get the main player in the economy, the state-owned enterprise, to perform as expected, it’s very difficult to imagine that we’ll be able to sustain ourselves exclusively with the private sector. I don’t have all the data or all the information in this regard, but what I said about closed financing schemes is very encouraging, because this forces us to work with all income and all expenses, not depending on the budget. In other words, it’s the company that has to find its own source of funding and move forward; above all, export as well, because these companies are included in the sectors that need to resume exports. Exporting is crucial for our country, and we’ve been very limited in our ability to export. It’s not easy, because we have to find the necessary resources, but finding those resources is a tremendous challenge as well.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: And there are also things we can’t always announce, right? Precisely because that’s the issue with the blockade.
Ms. Vivian Herrera Sid: Yes, Luis was talking about the private sector and state management. We must remember that the Constitution recognizes private property. And, in fact, we work together, and that sector plays an important role in the day-to-day operations of the Cuban economy. I’ve had many exchanges with non-state management entities that suffer the effects of the blockade on foreign trade operations. We understand, then, the true scope of that policy; we understand everything they tell us, because they persecute us too. Let’s not think that the effects of the blockade on transactions — that is, the persecution of transactions and other operations — are exclusive to the state sector. The United States government makes no distinction between private and state businesses. I say this from personal experience, from certain exchanges with representatives of the non-state sector.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: And from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX), Vivian, what is being done? What can be done further? How do you see, in terms of proposals and suggestions, what Cuba can do to confront these conditions of the blockade?
Ms. Vivian Herrera Sid: The blockade exists regardless of what we can do. It will continue to be there no matter what we do. The Cuban government is implementing an action plan to correct the distortions and revitalize the economy. And that is what we must focus on: better administrative management, optimal use of the few resources we have, to carry out the country’s plans.
Therefore, if you ask me what we can do from a professional standpoint, I would say that we must be more dedicated to our work, more responsible with the state mandate or with the mandate we have to our population to provide better services. We all have to unite. This is a struggle for all the Cuban people. It is possible to denounce the blockade today, tomorrow, and always. We don’t have the international support we do for nothing; we must always tell the truth; we must convince our youth, not through rhetoric, but through everyday examples; we must work with a sense of belonging and patriotism, with the goal of building the society we all deserve.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: Luis, there are economists — those I mentioned at the beginning — who are even saying that our economic backwardness is due to the political system, to socialism, and, of course, to planning, because we know they love to attack planning.
I know we have discussed these topics of socialism and political economy many times. What can you say about this?
Dr. C. Luis Marcelo Yera: Indeed, the issue of socialism. It is a challenge in itself and a great challenge given Cuba’s circumstances. But it is possible to move forward despite the conditions we face, which seem insurmountable. It is possible to advance Cuban socialism.
I am hopeful that, along the path we are on, we can improve state-owned enterprises, so that workers’ collectives can undergo a gradual process of empowerment within the company and have a greater role, which we have lacked. I said at the beginning that we have not been able to develop the economy as much as we would have liked, nor have we been able to advance conceptually as much as we would have liked, and the path lies in empowering workers’ collectives, the collectives of producers. From my point of view, it is one of the ways to overcome the obstacles of the blockade.
I believe we have much to do in this area, but there is also a great deal of research and accumulated analysis that can help us overcome this serious problem we face.
Dr. C. Marxlenin Pérez: Empowering Cuban workers in state-owned and private enterprises — in short, empowering the workers, who are the most important force of the Revolution — to confront the obstacles the blockade places in our path every day.
Once again, I thank you for joining us on our program to discuss today whether or not the blockade is the main obstacle to Cuba’s economic development. Remember that it is not enough to interpret or describe our problems; we must participate together — the participation Luis called for — to transform our reality. I am counting on you to do so from within Cuban socialism.
[ SOURCE: CUBA DEBATE ]
Transcription: Geidy Acosta Méndez, Yanet Muñoz Hernández, / IDEAS Multimedios
( Taken from Agenda Económica / Tomado de Agenda Económica )
