Carne Cruda Podcast · La República Independiente de la Radio

Cuba, ¿el fin de la revolución? (CARNE CRUDA #1625)

February 24, 2026·1 hr 1 min·4 clips

Lisette, a 62-year-old Havana resident, describes surviving 12-hour daily blackouts: a bottle of oil costs 900 pesos (30 euros), a single egg costs 100 pesos (3.5 euros), and she hitchhikes to work because she cannot afford bus fare.

1. Carne Cruda (#1625) asks whether the Cuban revolution, now 67 years old, is reaching its end under simultaneous pressure from US sanctions and internal governance failures. 2. Host Andrea Olea is joined by Abraham Jiménez-Enoa (Cuban journalist in exile, co-founder of El Estornudo, contributor to The Washington Post, NYT, and Al Jazeera) and Susanne Gratius (CIDOB researcher, UAM professor, author of Cuba in Times of Change). 3. The episode's central question is whether Cuba's current crisis is survivable or whether it represents a structural collapse from which the regime cannot recover. 4. A recorded testimony from Lisette, a 62-year-old Havana retiree, anchors the episode: she has returned to work to supplement her 4,000-peso pension and hitchhikes to the bank because card payments are refused and withdrawals are capped at 5,000 pesos. 5. In Havana, a bottle of oil costs 900 pesos (approximately 30 euros equivalent) and a single egg costs 100 pesos (approximately 3.5 euros), rendering basic nutrition unaffordable for most Cubans. 6. Daily blackouts last 10 to 12 hours minimum; many areas experience 20+ hours without electricity, forcing people to cook outdoors with firewood. 7. Three-day water shortages are common; pharmacies face severe medicine shortages; dental care is inaccessible to most Cubans due to cost. 8. On January 3, oil supply to Cuba was cut off following the US intervention in Venezuela and what the show describes as the 'kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro'; Trump renewed the maritime blockade and threatened to sanction any country supplying Cuba with fuel. 9. Venezuela had previously supplied Cuba with up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day in exchange for Cuban medical personnel; Cuba produces only one-third of its daily need of 120,000–150,000 barrels. 10. The US embargo has been in force since 1962 with estimated cumulative losses of $170 billion; Trump's first term added more than 240 sanctions covering remittances, visas, travel, medical cooperation, and fuel transport. 11. Cuba's GDP has fallen 11% over five years; post-pandemic tourism has not recovered; the country has been in a state of permanent default to international creditors. 12. Abraham Jiménez-Enoa describes Cubans as trapped: the US blockade on one side, and the Cuban government's political repression on the other, with no resources diverted from regime security to public services. 13. Jiménez-Enoa was forced into exile; he frames Cuba's historical relationship with the US as colonial prior to 1959, with Cuba effectively a US protectorate with casinos and a neocolonial economy. 14. Susanne Gratius distinguishes the current crisis from the 1990s Período Especial: in the 1990s, after the Soviet collapse, Cubans still believed change was possible; today, after 30 years of permanent economic adjustment, that hope is gone. 15. Approximately 3 million Cubans — a substantial share of the island's population — have already emigrated, according to Gratius; almost entire communities have gone abroad for work. 16. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban exiles, is described as 'obsessed with toppling the regime'; both the Trump administration and Rubio have stated they expect Cuba and Venezuela to change regimes before the end of 2026. 17. Potential US–Cuba negotiations are discussed: Gratius speculates that political prisoner releases (paralleling Venezuela's recent pattern) may signal behind-the-scenes talks, though neither government has confirmed any negotiating process. 18. Mexico is identified as the only Latin American country currently willing to send humanitarian aid and oil to Cuba; other potential Cuban-American investment interest exists for post-regime reconstruction. 19. The episode's tone is investigative and sober throughout, combining field audio testimony, structured analysis from two specialist academics, and contextual data framing. 20. Listeners interested in Latin American politics, US foreign policy, or the lived experience of economic collapse will find this episode substantive; those looking for cultural or entertainment content will not.

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