This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of Cuba’s ongoing and escalating economic collapse, examined through the analytical lens of Austrian School economics, particularly the theory of the economic calculation problem developed by Ludwig von Mises. By integrating contemporary empirical evidence on the island’s deteriorating energy infrastructure, persistent fuel shortages, widespread social unrest, and accelerating demographic decline, the study argues that Cuba’s current crisis represents not a temporary political disruption but the structural culmination of decades of centralized economic planning. The paper situates Cuba’s present condition within a broader historical trajectory of systemic dependency on external patrons. Following the consolidation of power by Fidel Castro after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the island’s economy became deeply integrated into the geopolitical and financial orbit of the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1991. After the Soviet collapse, Cuba endured the so-called “Special Period,” only to later stabilize partially through external support first from Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and later through partnerships involving countries such as Brazil and Mexico. Each of these subsidy regimes, the paper argues, functioned as a temporary buffer that postponed—but could not eliminate—the structural contradictions inherent in a centrally planned system. Empirical evidence from Cuba’s national power utility, Unión Eléctrica (UNE), illustrates the depth of the crisis. During 2025–2026, the national electrical system has repeatedly faced generation deficits approaching 1,600–2,000 megawatts, leaving large portions of the country without electricity for extended periods. These shortages reflect a broader systemic breakdown characterized by obsolete thermoelectric plants, chronic fuel scarcity, and an inability to finance maintenance or modernization of critical infrastructure. At peak demand, Cuba has sometimes been able to generate only about half of the electricity required, producing rolling blackouts lasting up to twenty hours in some regions.
Zen Revista (Tue,) studied this question.