Pinar del Río's Party-Driven Radio Show: A New Chapter in Propaganda

Yamilé Ramos Cordero, a member of the Communist Party of Cuba's Central Committee and the first secretary of the PCC in Pinar del Río, made her debut last Thursday as the host of "Entre Todos," a new radio segment on Radio Guamá that claims to foster citizen participation.

This program is the latest addition to a series of provincial radio shows that mimic the "Criterio Compartido" format launched by President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Radio Rebelde on September 23, 2026. It's essentially more party propaganda in a nation grappling with pervasive darkness.

The format is strikingly similar across all broadcasts: fortnightly airings, citizens' concerns—carefully screened—are received via phone calls, and the provincial PCC first secretary acts as the spokesperson. Before Pinar del Río, similar programs were introduced in Matanzas, Artemisa, and Santiago de Cuba, with Sancti Spíritus expected to follow on the 25th.

The inaugural episode focused on land grants, agricultural production, and the exorbitant cost of food. The discussion was sparked by the plight of a tenant from the Gerardo Medina Cooperative of Credits and Services in Guane, who applied for land following his father's passing in November 2024, and after nearly a year, still awaits a reply, even though the process should not exceed 180 days, according to reports.

Ramos Cordero acknowledged bureaucratic delays and assured that a resolution would be forthcoming "in the coming days." She stressed the need for efficiency among the agencies involved in the process, stating, "All enterprises have already set up the necessary conditions, and those in the granting commissions must work to expedite these procedures," in typical bureaucratic-political jargon often used by the island's leaders.

The statistics she provided highlight the scale of the agricultural issues in Vueltabajo: out of 416,000 hectares of agricultural land in the province, over 36,000 remain idle, and about 17,000 are poorly utilized. Although more than 70,000 hectares have been allocated for cultivation in recent years, she admitted that "a significant percentage is still overgrown with weeds."

Furthermore, the three agricultural communities established in the province—two in the main municipality and one in Sandino—are failing to achieve their goals. "We haven't been able to turn them into spaces for increased food production," she admitted.

On the topic of pricing, Ramos Cordero's analysis was candid but her solutions were sparse: "We start from the dissatisfaction caused by insufficient food production; moreover, sales lack organization, discipline, and oversight." Currently, only tomato production receives subsidies; other crops are left to the whims of the market.

Adding to the list of challenges is the issue of banking. "In the province, we have faced a cash shortage to meet producers' requests […]. The banking system has been working on this, but the necessary transformation hasn't been achieved," emphasized the leader, who is at the forefront of the fourth installment of this provincial radio series spreading across the island.

Cubans on social media reacted with the usual skepticism to these shows. "My God, what a way to distract the people," one user commented. Another noted the irony, saying, "It might be a great idea, but unfortunately, they should consider other initiatives like making public listening equipment available, as there is no electricity most of the day." One user underscored her personal plight: "And here I am on the Viñales road... eight months without water."

The original format does not yield promising results either: in its fourth broadcast on November 4, Díaz-Canel conceded that out of 23 complaints received in the previous episode, only nine had been resolved.

With such a track record, "Entre Todos" will air biweekly on Thursdays from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., on provincial radio networks and online audio. When everything else is lacking, the party's rhetoric, as Cubans commonly say, remains ever-present.