Wednesday, April 08, 2026

Posting Discussion Draft: "The Conceptual Architecture of America First—Ideological Transactionalism and the Case of Cuba"

 

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But here’s what this really means. It means that like millions and millions of Americans, President Trump loves this country and wants to see it do well in the world – not at the expense of others, but to the benefit of our people, and by extension, the nations that share our values and our strategic goals. It’s really that simple. If there is a natural law of foreign policy, this is it. And while he wishes every country enjoyed the freedoms we enjoy here, he has no aspiration to use force to spread the American model. You can see it in the administration’s record of its using force. I can prove it to you. And so – and so importantly − he believes America is exceptional – a place and history apart from normal human experience, the ones that our Founders spoke about. President Trump believes it is right – indeed more than right – for America to unashamedly advance policy that serves our interests and reflects American ideals. (Applause.) Certainly, our course of action in this administration reflects a gut-level – a gut-level – for love of country. But taking the pursuit of America’s interests up a notch is not just honorable; it’s urgent in this new era of great power competition. (Michael P. Pompeo, "A Foreign Policy From the Founding," Speech delivered at the Claremont Institute 40th Anniversary Gala , Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, May 11, 2019)

I am happy to share with those interested the roughed out discussion draft of an article: The Conceptual Architecture of America First—Ideological Transactionalism and the Case of Cuba. The question considered goes to the ordering premises within which it is possible to rationalize and order our social and political systems--something that had been more or less stable since the middle of the last century:

How does one reboot the now traditional discursive tropes of sovereignty and the state system, one deeply embedded in the culture of States and memorialized initially in the Montevideo Convention of 1933, and one grounded in the protection of the internal affairs by states by others, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and self-determination; how does one engage in this sort of reboot in a context where the discursive tropes of sovereignty, have been dissipated by globalization--everyone, multinational enterprises (economic and societal, Apple Inc., and Amnesty Int'l), perhaps now have varying "rights" to auto-determination, if not territory; how does one do that rebooting where those old discursive tropes may now be perhaps dispositively displaced by the discourse of the transformation of the ordering premises of the global from one foregrounding institutions, management, and bureaucratic ordering within hierarchically arranged systems, to one embedded within an ethos of transactional discourse and the values that discourse represents?

These are, indeed, a longish set of questions. They are perhaps also better understood as a challenge (for states and others) as the primary contradiction of international relations shifts from one grounded in the perfection of States, their system and their language/values (through Rule of Law infused tropes, to one in which merchants rather than bureaucrats might be more comfortable. It is made more difficult because even the old terms acquire ambiguity in the contemporary Cuban context (auto-determination including the Cuban diaspora?; for example).

Here is the abstract:

Since 2016 the conceptual basis of the foreign relations architecture of the United States has experienced a profound dialectic. On the one side is the contemporary product of a long evolution of conceptual premises that are grounded in the orienting conception of an institutional state overseen by an expert techno bureaucracy in the service of institutions around which political, economic, social, and cultural life is organized both domestically and in relations with other similarly organized institutions in the public and private sphere. This had produced both the deeply institutionally integrated systems of international organizations and of economic globalization around which the rules based legal order operated. On the other side were forces of opposition to this vision that emerged in a dominant form with the election of President Trump in 2016 and again in 2024. This oppositional vision was grounded in a rejection of centering the organization of collective life around and through institutions. It did not reject institutions as such; it sought to refocus the driving force of social organization from institutions to the transactions that with respect to which institutions and other actors. While this possible cognitive shift appears at first blush to be one of emphasis, its consequences can be significant. This essay has two objectives. The first is to sketch out the current framework of conceptual transactionalism around which America First is evolving. The second is to consider its application in the case of the Cuban crisis of 2026.

       

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CONTENTS:

 

I. Introduction: Situating Cuba and the Caribbean Within America First

 

2. The Cognitive and Analytical Age that is America First.

A. Cognitive Typologies Need Archetypes: The "Merchant" () and the "Bureaucrat" ()

B. The Primary Sources

                  i. National Security Strategy of the United States for 2025 (November 2025) [NSS 2025].

                  ii. U.S. Department of State Agency Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2026-2030 (January 2026)

                  iii. The 2026 National Defense Strategy

                  iv. Remarks of Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference.

C. The Parameters of Perception, Analysis and Policy.

i. Donald Trump, Presidential Memorandum: Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations.

ii. Marco Rubio, 100 Days of an America First State Department.

3. The Merchant/Transactional Approach to the problem of Cuba in 2026.

A. Prelude: The Merchant/Transactional Approach to the Cuban Problem Projected Back into History

B. The Template: Venezuela 2026.

C. Cuba Within the Transactional Institutional Lens.

 

4. Conclusions.

 The discussion draft may be accessed HERE: America_First_Cuba_Transition_2026.

The Introduction and Conclusion follow below. 

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Tuesday, April 07, 2026

Online Event: “To Dare Mighty Things: The U.S. Restless Defense Strategy Then and Now" Dr. Michael O'Hanlon in conversation with Dr. Klaus Larres

 



  Dr Klaus Larres, Richard M Krasno Distinguished Professor of History & International Affairs at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, USA, and the Director of the Krasno Global Affairs & Business Council/Krasno Global Events Series has announced another in its Krasno Global Events Series at UNC-Chapel Hill. This time the event is organized as a conversation with Dr. Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign and defence policy expert from the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. It is scheduled to take place 9 April 2026 and is sure to be of interest to some. 

It is an online event only. 

 ZOOM LINK: https://zoom.us/j/98072415115 (no registration or RSVP necessary)

The topic of the conversation is "“To Dare Mighty Things: The U.S. Restless Defense Strategy Then and Now" and is crafted around his book, “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution” which is scheduled for release on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Republic. 

My own take on the current NDS strategy may be accessed here (Fleshing Out the America First Framework as Peace Through Strength Projections: Brief Reflections on the 2026 National Defense Strategy (US Department of War January 2026)); thoughts on the current NDS as an integral part of the America First project may be accessed here (The Conceptual Architecture of America First—Ideological Transactionalism and the Case of Cuba (discussion draft)).  

More information follows below.  

OMFIF Conference: The Americas transition finance summit




The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) is now circulating its quite interesting notice of  an upcoming event: The Americas transition finance summit. The Press Release described it like this:
2026 may prove to be a pivotal year for transition finance. As we approach 2030, it is clear that countries around the world must step up their commitments to limiting the impacts of climate change. The Americas transition finance summit, hosted by OMFIF and Bolsa Institucional de Valores, is a platform for advancing credible, investable pathways to net zero.  Taking place in Mexico City, the summit convenes leaders from asset management, private equity, public development banks, ministries of finance, central banks and corporatations from across the Americas to share expertise and find solutions to the challenges of the green transition. Through a series of panel discussions and keynote addresses, the summit examines the mindset of investors as they look for diversification, risk management considerations, policy and market architecture, and successful transition finance case studies in the region.
Registration may be accessed HERE.



Just Posted: "Legal-Institutional Foundations for Reconstruction in a Post-Revolutionary Cuba: A Conceptual Exercise"

 

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I am delighted to share a recently posted essay: Legal-Institutional Foundations for Reconstruction in a Post-Revolutionary Cuba: A Conceptual Exercise (March 2026), which will appear in the Cuba in Transition, 2025 Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban economy. It may be accessed HERE.

Here is the abstract:

Cuba is certainly in transition. But that means very different things to groups competing to drive transition. The resulting dissonance, guided by sometimes incompatible formative premises, complicates the challenge of transition, its forms, where that transition leads, and what may be necessary. Whatever the form and trajectories of transition, it is clear that transition will require substantial attention to the construction of aligned institutional-legal foundations. The purpose of these remarks is to consider the form and challenges of developing robust institutional-legal foundations in the Cuban context. It is organized in five parts. After the introduction the remarks first considers conceptual starting points-the importance of the development and choice of political-economic models as a predicate for the construction of robust institutional-legal foundations. It is divided into two parts, the first focusing on normative political orders, and the second examining institutional-legal orders. The remarks then considers two starting points of analysis. The first situates the Cuban political-economic model as a conceptual baseline. The second the current state of institutional-legal foundations in Cuba. The remarks then articulates the context in which the challenge of transition appears in contemporary Cuba-the end of the long arc of the Cuba revolutionary regime. That brings the remarks to the heart of the matter: what the future can bring. This is divided into several organizing-normative questions: (a) Who is to make decisions about transitioning?; (b) What ideological political economic model is to serve as the basis of post-revolutionary institutional-law building?; (c) Through which institutional actors ought this ideological politicaleconomic model be realized?; (d) What timeline is to be chosen to develop and implement this transition?; and (e) The Marie Kondo moment-what of the present system is to be kept and what is to be discarded or repurposed?

 The Introduction follows below

Sunday, April 05, 2026

Life and Death: The U.S. Presidential Message on Easter and the Easter Homily of Pope Leo XIV

 

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In a way that reflects the essence of the end of Holy Week, U.S. President Trump issued his Easter Statement and  Pope Leo XIV his Easter Homily.  

The Pope focused on the mortal fear of and liberation from death. But this is not a death of the body he was speaking to; he was speaking to the power of death over mortals. "Death has been conquered forever; death no longer has power over us!" Death becomes a semiotic signific for the human condition. "From within, this power threatens us when the weight of our sins prevents us from “spreading our wings” and taking flight, or when the disappointments or loneliness we experience drain our hope. . . From without, death is always lurking. We see it present in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable." (Easter Homily).

The President spoke to restoration, release and victory for humans and their collectives. He spoke to the price of such restoration and release in terms of sacrifice. “Death is swallowed up in victory.”(quoting 1 Corinthians 15:54). The Vulgate makes it clearer, death has been absorbed (Absorpta est mors); the difference is telling--to swallow is to ingest into the body; to absorb is to digest that which is swallowed. The President spoke to that promise of salvation through resurrection not in the next life but in this as a victory that evidences that absorption of death; and not just as an individual engagement but one for the nation: "As we rejoice in this Easter season, we are reminded that the life of Jesus Christ and the truths of the Gospel have inspired our way of life and our national identity for 250 years. From the Christian patriots who won and secured our liberty on the battlefield and every generation since, the love of Christ has unfailingly guided our Nation through calm waters and dark storms."(Easter Statement).

But has death been ingested or digested? In what and how is that victory received. . . or embedded? It is on this note, the note of the dialectics between life and death; between the corruptible and the incorruptible; between the Kingdom of the flesh and  the Kingdom of God; between a victory that is swallowed and one that absorbs; it is about those dialectics that both men danced, and that calls for further reflection. It m then be that there is value in concluding this Easter greeting with the longer context of the passage to 1 Corinthians 15:50-42-55 to which the president quoted and to which the Pope alluded. The passage is from the King James version, which requires (now deliberately) more measured reading for the oscillating binaries that are at last resolved:

42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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42 sic et resurrectio mortuorum. Seminatur in corruptione, surget in incorruptione. 43 Seminatur in ignobilitate, surget in gloria: seminatur in infirmitate, surget in virtute: 44 seminatur corpus animale, surget corpus spiritale. Si est corpus animale, est et spiritale, sicut scriptum est: 45 Factus est primus homo Adam in animam viventem, novissimus Adam in spiritum vivificantem. 46 Sed non prius quod spiritale est, sed quod animale: deinde quod spiritale. 47 Primus homo de terra, terrenus: secundus homo de caelo, caelestis. 48 Qualis terrenus, tales et terreni: et qualis caelestis, tales et caelestes. 49 Igitur, sicut portavimus imaginem terreni, portemus et imaginem caelestis.

50 Hoc autem dico, fratres: quia caro et sanguis regnum Dei possidere non possunt: neque corruptio incorruptelam possidebit. 51 Ecce mysterium vobis dico: omnes quidem resurgemus, sed non omnes immutabimur. 52 In momento, in ictu oculi, in novissima tuba: canet enim tuba, et mortui resurgent incorrupti: et nos immutabimur. 53 Oportet enim corruptibile hoc induere incorruptionem: et mortale hoc induere immortalitatem. 54 Cum autem mortale hoc induerit immortalitatem, tunc fiet sermo, qui scriptus est: Absorpta est mors in victoria. 55 Ubi est mors victoria tua? ubi est mors stimulus tuus? 56 Stimulus autem mortis peccatum est: virtus vero peccati lex. 57 Deo autem gratias, qui dedit nobis victoriam per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. 58 Itaque fratres mei dilecti, stabiles estote, et immobiles: abundantes in opere Domini semper, scientes quod labor vester non est inanis in Domino.

The complete Easter Homily and Eater Presidential Statement follows below with links to the original posting. 

Saturday, April 04, 2026

Library of Congress--Cuban Law: Global Legal Collection Highlights

 

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In 2015, writing for the Library of Congress blogsKelly Buchanan, posted a guest post by Gustavo Guerra, a foreign law specialist at the Law Library of Congress on the Cuban Law collections available through the Library of Congress (Cuban Law – Global Legal Collection Highlights (). For those with an interest in the area I have re-posted that guest post below.  While some of the sources are now of historical interest, these may still be a great use for historians, policy makers and others. 

More generally the Library of Congress Webpage: Cuba: Hispanic Reading Room Country Guide, provides a portal to additional resources.  

Friday, April 03, 2026

Now available: Telos 214 (Spring 2026): China Keywords II Traditions and Transformations in Modern China






I am delighted to pass along the announcement of the publication of  Telos 214 (Spring 2026): China Keywords II Traditions and Transformations in Modern China.

Today we released Telos 214, our second special issue on China Keywords. Based on papers presented at the 2025 Telos-Paul Piccone Institute Conference in New York, the issue brings together authors from China, Taiwan, the United States, Australia, and Europe to assess recent developments of cultural and political conceptions in China and Taiwan, including notions of empire, tianxia, Confucianism, and democracy. The discussions continue a debate about the nature of the Chinese government from our previous issue, in particular the question of whether it can be characterized as authoritarian or totalitarian. Finally, we remember longtime Telos editor, David Gross, whose passing we mourn and whose voice we will miss dearly.

 The Introduction to the issue by Eric Hendricks and David Pan follows below along wit the Table of Contents with links. 

 Telos 214 (Spring 2026): China Keywords II is now available for purchase in our store. Individual subscriptions to Telos are also available in both print and online formats.

Upcoming Event: "Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic & Paralympic Games - Public Diplomacy Insights for LA28"

 


 

I am delighted to pass along this announcement for the public discussion organized by my colleagues at the Penn State School of International Affairs:  "Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic & Paralympic Games - Public Diplomacy Insights for LA28."

The Event will be held TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 12.30 PM: at Penn State's Sutliff Auditorium (University Park Campus) at 12:30pm.

In-person registration link: https://forms.office.com/r/aq1vT1CnPC

Virtual registration link: https://psu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MmYNv1PjSw-2Ftb1fntweA

Thursday, April 02, 2026

Cuando esté al borde de un abismo, considere saltar: el Estado y el aparato del partido cubanos adoptan su "Programa Económico y Social del Gobierno 2026"

 



Foto credito aquí

 ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSION HERE.

 Hace una década, en un acto de reverencia asombrosamente magnífico hacia el pasado —ejecutado mediante los «tres arrodillamientos y nueve postraciones» (三跪九叩) ante los antepasados ​​(incluso aquellos que aún no habían fallecido del todo)—, el aparato del Partido Comunista Cubano adoptó su «Conceptualización del modelo económico y social cubano de desarrollo socialista» (analizada aquí en un informe de contexto del CPE). Es decir —para parafrasear libremente a Marx—, el espectro que hoy acecha a Cuba. Un espectro que, en 2026, no fue ni exorcizado ni confrontado; sino uno bajo cuyo influjo parecen haber quedado consumidos tanto el Estado como el Partido.

La *Conceptualización* destacó, ante todo, como un repliegue que paralizó de hecho los movimientos hacia la reforma o el desarrollo —dentro de un marco marxista-leninista— del modelo económico-político cubano, y que subrayó su alineamiento con el modelo operativo propuesto originalmente por el I Congreso del Partido Comunista de Cuba en 1976. Calificar de «decepción» el sentir de aquellos que, aun permaneciendo comprometidos con el modelo marxista-leninista cubano, buscaban reformarlo para adaptarlo a las realidades imperantes en la etapa histórica de desarrollo que atravesaba Cuba en aquel momento, sería quedarse corto. Sin embargo, las élites —al menos oficialmente— retrocedieron ante la posibilidad de un cambio «novedoso» (y, en gran medida, de corte «oriental»); y, ciertamente, no quisieron saber nada de mercados ni de estructuras operativas marxista-leninistas al estilo asiático. Ese viraje hacia los mercados —incluso hacia mercados marxista-leninistas bien gestionados— fue considerado una vía directa hacia la corrupción del marxismo y, con ello, hacia la desarticulación del proyecto leninista tal como ellos lo concebían. Ya en 2012, Fidel Castro dejó claro en sus «Reflexiones» que el modelo que representaba la cúspide de un sistema marxista-leninista debidamente organizado era el elaborado por Erich Honecker (Alemania Oriental), y no el ideado por Deng Xiaoping (República Popular China). (Véase: *Fidel Castro sobre Deng Xiaoping y Erich Honecker: Comprender los fundamentos de la política económica y política cubana*; «Más que ninguna otra cosa, es probable que estas breves reflexiones constituyan lo más cerca que lleguemos a estar de comprender las razones por las que Cuba se halla en su actual y particular encrucijada. Una situación basada, tal vez, en la nostalgia por lo que pudo haber sido —Alemania Oriental—, y en el miedo y la aversión hacia lo que podría llegar a ser: un marxismo de mercados al estilo chino»). 

Fidel Castro siempre había visto con considerable recelo la política de apertura marxista de Deng (véase, por ejemplo: *The UnRepentant: Fidel Castro Confronts Cuban Globalization*, en *Law at the End of the Day*, 15 de septiembre de 2007); una postura que estaba profundamente arraigada en los esquemas conceptuales del aparato del Estado y del Partido (nuevamente en 2019, y ahora en 2026), y, muy especialmente, en su insistente expresión ideológica de corte soviético: no solo soviética en sensibilidad y perspectiva, sino un «sovietismo» osificado e impermeable a las realidades del paso del tiempo (entre otras cosas). Esta suspicacia —y la arquitectura que la sustentaba— no fue compartida en igual medida por su hermano (véase, por ejemplo: *On the Anniversary of the Attack on the Moncada Barracks: Cuba Moves Forward towards its Chinese Future*, en *Law at the End of the Day*, 27 de julio de 2007). El resultado fue —al menos dentro de los sectores económicos sobre los que se otorgó autoridad a las fuerzas armadas— un sector de empresas estatales más o menos (según los estándares cubanos, al menos) dinámico y orientado al mercado, que se fue expandiendo bajo el liderazgo de los militares (a quienes se encomendó la gestión de una parte considerable de la economía formal cubana); y, por otro lado, un aparato de planificación centralizada dentro del sector estatal —de estilo soviético y obstinadamente ortodoxo— que veía a los mercados con gran desconfianza y se mostraba reacio a tolerarlos, salvo en los márgenes y, muy especialmente, durante los periodos de emergencia.

El año 2026 ha sido testigo del estallido de una catástrofe para la economía cubana, para su infraestructura y para todo aquello que pueda considerarse su economía formal. Se trata de una crisis autoinfligida; una crisis que hace que la actual versión del marxismo-leninismo estalinista cubano resulte particularmente vulnerable ante los acuerdos transaccionales derivados de la política de «Estados Unidos Primero» (*America First*) de la Administración Trump, tal como esta es aplicada por el Secretario de Estado Marco Rubio, una figura con un interés sustancialmente más refinado en los asuntos de Cuba. En tiempos de crisis como el actual, el Estado-Partido cubano tiende a actuar con celeridad, especialmente en lo que respecta a la concesión de reformas en torno al núcleo de sus estructuras operativas de corte soviético. Estas medidas han tendido a complacer a la intelectualidad y a los responsables políticos fuera de Cuba —particularmente en los Estados Unidos—, al tiempo que no suponen para el gobierno prácticamente ningún coste en términos de presión externa para implementar siquiera aquellos cambios que sus propios tecnoburócratas de filiación marxista-leninista llevan años reclamando. Este patrón, ya tan trillado, parece manifestarse nuevamente —hasta cierto punto—, dado que el Estado cubano ha dado indicios de sugerir una... una mayor tolerancia hacia las actividades basadas en el mercado, aunque —una vez más— solo en los márgenes y de maneras que no amenacen el núcleo de su sector estatal (o, dicho sea de paso, los negocios de las fuerzas armadas a través de GAESA).

Por otra parte, en la forma en que la (en retrospectiva trágica) visita de Estado del presidente Obama quedó vinculada al repliegue político que supuso la «Conceptualización del modelo económico y social cubano de desarrollo socialista», deliciosamente descrita en su momento por Ann Louise Bardach en "Reacción adversa en Cuba" para la revista Politico el 10 de junio de 2016 (y republicado por Arch Ritter en su blog: aquí), parece que, en sentido inverso, el estado actual de las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Cuba produce el mismo tipo de reacción: un afianzamiento ideológico con una sensación de reforma. Ante la política de «Estados Unidos Primero» de la administración Trump, aplicada con mayor rigor a la región del Caribe (comenzando quizás con el fin del liderazgo del Sr. Maduro en Venezuela) y sin centrarse en Cuba (aquí, aquí, aquí), el aparato del Estado cubano ha producido nuevamente lo que equivale a un clon actualizado de la «Conceptualización del modelo económico y social cubano de desarrollo socialista» de 2016, ahora con algunos detalles marginales que sugieren la necesidad de apaciguar a los artífices (externos) de la crisis actual (entendiendo, por supuesto, que el propio Estado cubano ha sido el responsable de sus propios desastres durante bastante tiempo). Este repliegue clonado y actualizado (incluida la selección de citas de Fidel Castro que ahora se alinean con las necesidades políticas actuales) se ha distribuido bajo el título de Programa Económico y Social del Gobierno (2026). Así pues… la apariencia de cambios marginales y una firme reafirmación de la permanencia de una posición ideológica de la década de 1970, esta vez sin los subsidios aparentemente interminables del imperio soviético.

El Programa Económico lo esbozado consiste en un plan de 10 puntos, que al estilo de tales cosas en las tecnoburocracias liberales democráticas y marxista-leninistas suenan como vagas exhortaciones a objetivos generalizados de algún tipo: 

Objetivo General 1: Propiciar un entorno macroeconómico que favorezca la actividad productiva y el incremento de los ingresos externos. 
Objetivo General 2: Incrementar y diversificar los ingresos externos del país. 
Objetivo General 3: Incrementar la producción nacional, con énfasis en los alimentos. 
Objetivo General 4: Transformar, modernizar y desarrollar el sistema empresarial cubano fortaleciendo el papel de la empresa estatal socialista, con énfasis en la integración entre todos los actores económicos. 
Objetivo General 5: Avanzar en el perfeccionamiento de la gestión estratégica para el desarrollo territorial. 
Objetivo General 6: Avanzar en el perfeccionamiento de la gestión de Gobierno, la Defensa y Seguridad Nacional. 
Objetivo General 7: Consolidar y desarrollar las políticas sociales, garantizando la protección a personas, familias, hogares y comunidades en situación de vulnerabilidad. 
Objetivo General 8: Avanzar en la implementación de las directivas generales dirigidas a la prevención y reducción del delito, la corrupción, las ilegalidades y las indisciplinas sociales. 
Objetivo General 9: Avanzar en la recuperación del Sistema Electroenergético Nacional, impulsando la soberanía energética. 
Objetivo General 10: Gestionar la ciencia e innovación, los recursos naturales, la comunicación social y la transformación digital para impulsar las esferas de desarrollo sostenible. 
Esto funciona en tiempos de bonanza; carece de la claridad y la intensidad que a menudo se requieren en tiempos de crisis. Nada de esto es nuevo; gran parte es una ilusión; y todo carece de vías efectivas más allá de la esperanza y la miseria porque la esperanza en manos de los que viven solomente en el mundo de ideas jamas tienen tiempo para adivinar como se purede sustener la población sino con el alimento espiritual--salvo a punta de armas. Y de hecho, en su esencia, reside la determinación fundamental de retomar, con renovado vigor, el núcleo de las decisiones ideológicas, y sus consecuencias necesarias, que llevaron al Estado cubano a su situación actual; ese es el banquete dispuesto ante el pueblo cubano, ahora enmohecido tras haber estado expuesto a la intemperie desde la década de 1970, en un clima tropical cálido y húmedo; y ahora sin los servicios financieros Rusos, Chinos, o Venezolanos. . . . :
La Conceptualización del Modelo Económico y Social Cubano, los Lineamientos de la Política Económica y Social del Partido y la Revolución, el Plan Nacional de Desarrollo al 2030, el Programa Económico y Social del Gobierno, el Plan de la Economía Nacional y el Presupuesto del Estado para el 2026, constituyen los documentos rectores que rigen la dirección del desarrollo del país. La correcta comprensión de la naturaleza y funciones de cada documento y, sobre todo, de su interrelación, es crucial para evitar desviaciones en el logro de las metas previstas. Una comprensión adecuada de la naturaleza y las funciones de cada documento —y, sobre todo, de su interrelación— es crucial para evitar desviaciones en el logro de los objetivos proyectados. (Programa Económico y Social del Gobierno (2026), Introducción, sin énfasis en el original)

Bautizada en el concepto de reforma operativa, la sugerencia de que, tras una década o más, abordarán adecuadamente la operacionalización de los documentos clave de la reducción del gasto (y esta vez lo harán bien), es precisamente lo que suelen acoger quienes buscan cualquier tipo de movimiento (incluso en la dirección equivocada) que sugiera "cooperación" o "reforma" cubanas; palabras que pierden gran parte de su significado habitual en este contexto. Sugieren también que la falta de una comprensión adecuada de estos documentos es la causa (junto con el embargo estadounidense) del actual estado de catástrofe, o mejor dicho, del actual estado de miseria en el que se encuentra Cuba (sobre el estado de miseria cubano AQUÍ). Esa es la tragedia. Una verdadera lástima, pero encaja con los patrones de respuesta adoptados en esta primera parte del siglo XXI. Lamentablemente, lo que ya no se necesita es más de lo mismo. Incluso si las transformaciones revolucionarias que algunos anhelan fueran igualmente desastrosas.

Y sobre todo esto, el fantasma de Fidel Castro sigue acechando tanto al Estado como al Partido; no al Fidel revolucionario, sino al Fidel que se convirtió en la encarnación del giro estalinista dentro del marxismo-leninismo europeo. A diferencia de su ídolo Erich Honecker, Fidel no vivió para correr la misma suerte que aquel líder caído: la extradición al lugar donde gobernó y el juicio por sus crímenes se vieron truncados por una enfermedad terminal avanzada. Es imposible predecir qué sucederá con los demás que quedan.

Por lo tanto: cuando uno se encuentra al borde del abismo, considera saltar. En este caso, las autoridades cubanas parecen tentadas a hacerlo, aferrándose a un plan diseñado para mediados del siglo pasado y convencidas de que, al menos dentro del territorio cubano, el tiempo se ha detenido. Y esa bien podría ser la lección final para esta variante del leninismo caribeño, nacida de una revolución militar que pretendía detener el tiempo en el momento de su triunfo; solo para descubrir que el tiempo detenido tiene otro significado; y en ello, tal vez, con el tiempo, lleguen a la conclusión que Emily Dickinson sugirió sobre tales esfuerzos:

Un reloj se detuvo -
No el de la repisa -
La habilidad más avanzada de Ginebra
No puede hacer que la marioneta haga una reverencia -
Que hace un momento colgaba inmóvil -

¡Un asombro se apoderó de la baratija!
Las figuras se encorvaron, de dolor -
Luego temblaron de decimales -
En un mediodía sin grados -

No se moverá por los médicos -
Este péndulo de nieve -
El tendero lo importuna -
Mientras frío - indiferente No -

Asentimientos de las agujas doradas -
Asentimientos de los segundos delgados -
Décadas de arrogancia entre
La vida de la esfera -
Y él -

El reloj de Cuba, en efecto, bien podría haberse detenido en este sentido. Ese era el espectro, el cadáver animadao, de un marxismo soviético caribeño osificado, cuya principal perdición radicaba en su negativa a comprender lo que los leninistas chinos sabían desde hacía tiempo (y que resultaba incomprensible para los propios soviéticos): que el leninismo marxista es, por naturaleza, una teoría arraigada en el tiempo, basada en la premisa fundamental de un progreso a lo largo del tiempo por una senda socialista hacia el comunismo, y que el triunfo de una revolución no era el fin, sino el punto de partida.

La Introducción al Programa Económico y Social del Gobierno (2026) se presenta a continuación en su español original y en una breve traducción al inglés. La imagen que sigue, también parte del Programa Económico y Social del Gobierno (2026), se disfruta mejor con una pizca de ironía.

 

foto credito aquí

From Global SWF: "2026 Asia Playbook"

 

Pix credit here

 

Happy to pass along this quite interesting Report from our friends over at Global SWF:

We are delighted to release our 2026 Asia Playbook, i.e., our annual update on 36 territories across the Asian continent, and their respective state-owned investors. The document sheds a light on the latest developments of 36 Central Banks, 48 SWFs and 66 Pension Funds – as well as other major entities key for those public finance systems, including national oil companies, airlines, stock exchanges, royal family offices, and investment promotion agencies. Some of the key takeaways of the 54-page report include:
--Asian SWFs grew tremendously in 2025 and now manage 39% of the world’s total. Together with CBs and PPFs, their assets stand at US$ 22.5 trillion and could reach US$ 27.1 trillion by 2030.

--China alone, including Hong Kong and Macau, has amassed a balance sheet of US$ 8.6 trillion, larger than all the Middle Eastern State-Owned Investors combined.

--The Singaporean duo – GIC and Temasek – dominates the regional dealmaking and completed 77% of all investments coming out of Asian investors in the past 6 years. The most popular destinations of that capital were the US, India, the UK, China including Hong Kong, and Australia.

--Sadly, such impressive growth and deal activity is poised to slow down because of the energy crisis. We expect SWFs will be used differently, according to their mandate and portfolio: stabilization funds may be withdrawn, strategic funds may be “invited” to bail out certain industries or assets, and opportunistic funds may look for bargains.
The report includes a special feature and interview with Mr. Nurlan Zhakupov, the Chairman of the Management Board of Samruk-Kazyna, which is among the world’s top 25 SWFs with US$ 89 billion AuM.

Attached is an Executive Summary of the report, and the full document can be accessed by our subscribers at https://globalswf.com/reports/2026asia. We will host an in-person presentation next Thursday 9 April in Singapore. If you are a delegate of a CB/SWF/PPF and are interested in attending, please let us know.

Of particular interest may be this:

 Since February 28, the US and Israel have been bombing Iran, and Iran has responded by launching over 5,400 missiles and drones – most to the Gulf nations – and by closing the Strait of Hormuz, creating a massive and global energy crisis. This will likely have a large impact on Asian economies, most of which are heavily dependent on foreign oil and gas. In this context, Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) may come, once again, to the rescue of economies, industries and assets around the world. Using our definition of SWF, which is broad and inclusive by design, Asia (excluding the Middle East) is home to 48 such vehicles, collectively managing US$ 6.1 trillion as of April 2026. These include stabilization funds like Azerbaijan’s SOFAZ, savings funds like South Korea’s KIC, strategic-catalyzing funds like India’s NIIF, and strategic-umbrella funds like Indonesia’s Danantara. (Executive Summary)

The Executive Summary follows below.