Cuba is experiencing an economic collapse that observers say surpasses even the severe deprivation of the 1990s "Special Period" — the crisis that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and Cuba's loss of its main financial backer — with runaway prices leaving ordinary citizens struggling to meet basic needs. Despite the acute hardship, the Cuban government has called on citizens to formally pledge their commitment to defend the revolution at any cost, even as tensions with the United States add further pressure on the island's already crippled economy. The disconnect between official demands for sacrifice and the everyday reality facing Cubans — widely described as hungry and deeply frustrated — underscores a deepening legitimacy crisis for the Castro-era leadership.