On 18 June, the Cuban National Assembly approved a sweeping package of economic reforms. If implemented, they mean the end of the planned economy and the full restoration of capitalism on the island, which is currently under extreme pressure as the United States tightens a near-total blockade that has caused twenty-two-hour electricity cuts, food shortages, and the suspension of non-emergency surgery.
In this special episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martín go through the measures point by point, explain why this is capitalism and not a step towards socialism, and draw out the broader lessons for communists around the world.
They cover the Chinese and Vietnamese models, what the NEP actually was and wasn't, the role of the Cuban leadership in the collapse of the Venezuelan revolution, and why the only way out is workers' democracy and world revolution.
New episodes of Against the Stream return in mid-September.
📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖
Cuban communist intellectuals discuss the future of socialism (2010)
https://marxist.com/cuban-communist-intellectuals-discuss-socialism.htm
Where is Cuba going? Towards Capitalism or Socialism? (2010)
https://marxist.com/where-is-cuba-going-capitalism-or-socialism.htm
Punto y Aparte · Cuba, El Fantasma Y Las Reformas (2026)
https://www.facebook.com/pyacuba/posts/pfbid02otuLyoB3Qpqx9LNCUWn6FMbDJJBZzbD83orK2zBr2DNxBermrt7ju2VNteEorDRbl
¿Hay otra alternativa para Cuba? - Juventud Técnica (2026)
https://www.juventudtecnica.cu/articulos/hay-otra-alternativa-para-cuba/
The State and Revolution – V.I. Lenin (1917)
https://marxist.com/the-state-and-revolution.htm
The story of Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution | AGAINST THE STREAM (2026)
https://youtu.be/nnGzwqX25Jk?si=FoDPGRM5nigsNKoA
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️
🌐 LINKS 🌐
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