Cuba’s crisis is an opportunity for its neighbors

This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion publishes each week based on [Bloomberg]( This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion publishes each week based on web readership. [Communist Cuba Is On the Brink of Collapse]( — Juan Pablo Spinetto Almost unnoticed amid the drama and crisis that hit Latin America every week, in the last days of February the Cuban government [asked]( the United Nations for aid to address a growing food shortage. The unprecedented cry for help from a communist regime that has always prided itself on its social welfare model captures Cuba’s dire economic straits. Hurt by [tightened]( US restrictions, decaying domestic production, a weak post-Covid tourism industry and indifference from its allies, the island is living through its worst economic days since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. A string of blackouts brought [people into the streets]( last weekend, shouting for “food and power” — a rare display of social unrest since the turmoil that shook the island in July 2021, which the regime contained with [crushing force](. What we’re witnessing is the collapse of Cuba’s socialist regime. This transition could take decades. Or it could happen in much the same way as that great Cuba aficionado Ernest Hemingway once [wrote]( of bankruptcy: “Gradually, then suddenly.” One thing is clear: The crisis can’t be fixed without fundamentally changing the country’s centralized, state-controlled model where bureaucrats rule over every aspect of public life. That political change, which must come from within Cuban society, threatens the survival of the regime and the future of the revolution, an unacceptable risk for the well-fed old guard that still runs the country. Read the [whole thing](. [It’s Looking a Lot Like World War II Out There]( — Hal Brands [Trump’s Empty Pockets Make Him an Overseas Mark]( — Timothy L. O’Brien [Brexit’s Lasting Damage Is Looking Inescapable]( — Matthew Winkler [Squeezing Realtors Is Just What the Housing Market Needs]( — Conor Sen [Slorg Is Sorry Slerf Was Burnt]( — Matt Levine [What Modi Has Figured Out That Trump Never Has]( — Mihir Sharma [Don’t Ask Cathie Wood About Nvidia, or TSMC]( — Shuli Ren [Spirit Airlines’ Problems Started With Deregulation]( — Stephen Mihm [Kamala Harris’ Puerto Rico Visit Is Insulting]( — Susanne Ramirez de Arellano More From Bloomberg Opinion Here’s what we’ve been listening to and watching this week. - Is [gold actually a good investment](? Marcus Ashworth digs in. - When it comes to solving [Goldman Sachs’ women problem](, Beth Kowitt has some advice. - Why does it feel like everyone but me is [driving a Porsche 911](? Chris Bryant explains. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](