Cubawhich has long been a symbol of resilience under the regime socialistis today on the brink of collapse energeticwith a population suffering the dramatic consequences of an electricity blackout that has been going on for days and whose solution, according to forecasts, does not appear to be quick at all. In this sense, the description provided by various newspapers around the world is emblematic, showing a people who, accustomed to fighting, continue to resist. Large pots lit in the street, fueled by wood, where what remains in the unlit refrigerators are collectively cooked; bakeries working by candlelight; And the city shrouded in an eerie silenceinterrupted only by the noise of the cacerolazos, the protests with pots and pans that resonate in the streets of the capital. It is the portrait of a country that is faced with the failure of its basic structures, which certainly cannot be traced back only to hurricanes and the American embargo but rather to a system of centralized planning and pervasive state control, which has slowed down every attempt at modernization and economic opening.
Such collapse electricknown as “true generation“, however, represents only the latest chapter in an announced disaster. For years, in fact, the Cuban electricity system, based on old thermoelectric power plants and dependent on technology Sovietstruggles to sustain itself. However, it is a fight that becomes more and more difficult every day, because it is carried out with inadequate tools to remedy blackouts which are the symptom of a deeper problem: the inefficiency and obsolescence of a production plant incapable of self-sustaining and crushed by the lack of necessary energy supplies. This is especially due to the obstacles posed by the government itself Havanawho continues to accuse the US embargo due to the difficulties in the supply of fuel, without obviously considering that the real obstacle to the recovery of the Caribbean island is rather the political and economic model which has relegated private initiative to a truly marginal role and has exalted that of the state apparatus, which, however, proved incapable of responding to modern needs and failed. As Ludwig von Mises had already predicted almost a century ago in his masterpiece “Socialism” of 1922, where he explained that socialism is a inevitably destined to collapseor, incapable of responding efficiently to the needs of the population. So much for not being able to correctly calculate prices and costs, since, in an economy without a free market and competition, the fundamental information for a correct allocation of resources is missing.
In this context, it is also worth considering that in the homeland of Rum the demand for electricity has also grown thanks to the opening of private businesses, which however cannot be enough to change the fortunes and revive an economy strangled by decades of rigid controls and state inefficiency. In fact, this is a timid opening and extremely limited entrepreneurial initiatives, which cannot and do not contribute to the growth of a free marketthe government having chosen the path of centralized planning, thus hindering innovation and development.
The consequences are there for all to see: a collapsing energy system as soon as an unexpected problem occurs, schools are closed, economic activities are at a standstill, a population is fighting strenuously to survive. For how much longer? If, for long years, the regime managed to maintain controlnow the situation appears increasingly out of his hands. The protests, although contained, could only be the beginning of a broader reaction against a regime that is no longer able to guarantee even basic services. The Cuban people have already demonstrated that they are capable of great sacrifices, but hope that Diaz-Canel ability to find a solution seems to be weakening day after day, even in the face of the reality of a State that can no longer count on old allies, such as Venezuela or Russia, for energy supplies. Even Mexico, always supportive, has reduced its support. The situation for Cuba is approaching a point of no return, and complete collapse is not such a distant prospect.
In this context, the arrival of theHurricane Oscar it could only make the situation even worse. However, it is not the hurricanes that condemn Cuba, but, as already highlighted, an economic system suffocated by decades of control and centralization, which is not even capable of ensuring essential services and guaranteeing the well-being of its citizens.
A radical change is therefore necessaryto take a new direction, which puts an end to the economic isolation of the island and opens the doors to the free market. In practice, the advent of a system that rewards individual freedom, ensures economic freedom and private initiative and reduces state intervention to a minimum. A change which – hopefully – will soon become inevitable, even despite the easy demonstrations of solidarity from supporters of socialism, who revel in underlining the ability of Cubans to face emergencies with a community spirit.
In fact, we must ask ourselves: for how long will the inhabitants of the land of Salsa be able to continue to endure the deprivation of essential services, the absence of political and economic freedoms, the lack of a better future? History has taught us that when a state system fails, change becomes inevitable. Although, to be lasting and significant, it will have to go through a revolution that, never more than in this case, finally puts an end to the darkness – in a literal and figurative sense.
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