Cuba Reports Reduced Fiscal Deficit Amid Public Skepticism

On July 30, Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power unanimously approved the liquidation of the 2025 State Budget. Finance Minister Vladimir Regueiro Ale, in the presence of President Miguel Díaz‑Canel, presented a fiscal deficit of 67.642 billion pesos, equal to 5.4 % of GDP, which is about 21 billion pesos below the authorized limit. State revenue reached 463.461 billion pesos, 2 % above projections, while expenditures totaled 518.543 billion pesos, representing 97.9 % of the approved budget. Taxes accounted for 68.6 % of revenue, with tax collection at 311.074 billion pesos, and the National Tax Administration Office (ONAT) recovered 7.140 billion pesos in tax debts, a 45 % increase over the previous year. About 64 % of public spending was directed to health, education and social assistance, including more than 75 billion pesos for the health system and 60.691 billion pesos for social security, which included a partial pension increase for roughly 1.59 million retirees.

Citizens reacted skeptically on social media, questioning whether the figures reflect everyday realities. One education worker said, "I'd like to know what happened to the 2025 Education budget. Payments are delayed by up to 15 days," while another commented, "Even though we're in a bad state, we're slightly less in a bad state, something like that." The government framed the numbers as evidence of economic stability despite ongoing power outages, food and medicine shortages, and declining public services.