I haven't been to Cuba since the summer of 2019. COVID prevented me from returning for my annual summer trip. But everyone I speak to in Cuba is saying that the present economic problems are the worst they've lived through.
These are people that lived through the revolution. Through Periodo Especial. While Cubans love their hyperbole, they usually maintain the ability to compare. So I believe them when they say that.
There is also immigration proof that it's the worst it's been. Articles here and here show this is the largest wave of Cubans leaving the island for the US ever.
The root of the problem is the inept, authoritarian Cuban government. No doubt the US embargo doesn't help, but even without that, Cuba would flounder with its current leadership.
The important take here is:
So long as it's easier for Cubans to leave Cuba than to rise up and protest, nothing will change.
