Cuba Says Its Reforms Aren't Capitalism. The Paperwork Tells a Different Story.

Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel waves a paper flag while delivering a speech during the 73rd anniversary celebration of the guerrilla assault on the Moncada Barracks, led by the late leader Fidel Castro and considered the start of the Cuban Revolution, in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on July 26, 2026. Diaz-Canel denounced Washington's "genocidal policy" toward Cuba, accusing the United States of seeking to "seize the country" as President Donald Trump intensifies a maximum-pressure strategy against the island, alongside the longstanding embargo imposed in 1962. (Credit: by YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images)

HAVANA — Standing before delegates from communist and workers' parties gathered from around the globe, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel closed out this month's Havana summit with a message clearly meant for two audiences at once: his ideological guests, and the Cuban public watching at home. The island's economic overhaul, he insisted, is not a step toward capitalism.

A Familiar Denial, Delivered Again