Cuba's private sector grows as state-run institutions fail

Basic goods remain scarce amid U.S. sanctions and fuel blockade

Cuba’s private sector is beginning to take off even as food, fuel and other basic goods remain scarce and the communist government’s state-run institutions fail. The Wall Street Journal said Oct. 27 that Cuba is in the midst of its “worst economic crisis in decades.”

Escalating U.S. sanctions and a fuel blockade are continuing to create shortages of food, fuel and other basic goods, according to The Wall Street Journal. The private-sector expansion is occurring despite those shortages.

The outlet attributed the takeoff to a wave of economic overhauls that had opened Cuba’s economy more than at any time since the revolution. The Wall Street Journal said the private-sector growth came through those reforms even as state-run institutions continued to fail.

To examine the divergence firsthand, The Wall Street Journal obtained visas to report in Cuba. Its on-the-ground account focused on how the two realities were coming into conflict: expanding private activity on one side and failing state-run institutions on the other.

The outlet said Cuba’s deepening crisis “has created its own economic boom.” The report paired that description with continuing food and fuel shortages and the failure of state-run institutions.

Roberto Ferdman wrote the report. He is a correspondent on The Wall Street Journal’s video team, where he reports on a wide array of subjects. Previously, he was a correspondent for Vice News and a reporter for The Washington Post.

Belle Cushing is a senior video journalist on the enterprise video team for The Wall Street Journal in New York. She works on video investigations, news features and full-length documentaries in the U.S. and internationally.

Before joining the Journal in 2024, Cushing made news documentaries for Vice News and the Marshall Project. She has also contributed to feature documentary films and series.