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Cuba Approves Largest Economic Reform Package in Record Time

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Cuba has approved its largest package of economic reforms in at least 15 years, aiming to address a severe economic crisis and U.S. pressure.
  • The reforms, announced by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, include 176 measures covering tourism, foreign investment, agriculture, and the private sector.
  • The plan represents a significant shift from Cuba's state-controlled economy, seeking to decentralize and stimulate growth amidst internal challenges and external pressures.

Cuban authorities have rapidly approved a sweeping set of economic reforms, the most significant in at least 15 years, in a bid to confront the island's deep economic crisis and external pressures. President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced the measures, which were swiftly backed by the Communist Party's Central Committee and ratified by the National Assembly in an extraordinary session.

Díaz-Canel stated that Cuba is "living through the most difficult hours of this century" and that "it is time to change everything that needs to be changed." This reform package marks a substantial departure from Cuba's traditionally state-controlled and centralized economic system. It aims to open up and decentralize an economy that has been hampered by internal inefficiencies and intensified U.S. pressure over the past six months.

Cuba is living through the most difficult hours of this century and it is time to change everything that needs to be changed.

— Miguel Díaz-CanelThe Cuban president described the nation's dire economic situation and the necessity for reform.

The comprehensive plan comprises 176 reforms, some of which are substantial. Key measures include allowing "new actors" in the tourism sector, encouraging foreign investment, particularly from non-resident Cubans, and revitalizing agriculture, foreign trade, and the real estate market. The reforms also seek to address distortions in the monetary system, which currently operates with two currencies and three official exchange rates, and to shift universal subsidies on basic goods towards targeted support for vulnerable populations.

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero defended the initiatives as "strategic impact measures" that do not compromise the socialist nature of Cuba's economy. President Díaz-Canel has also established a group of experts, including critical economists, to propose further measures. These reforms are a direct response to both the alarming deterioration of the internal economic and social situation and the U.S. administration's sustained pressure for profound changes in Havana, including a near-total blockade of oil imports that has severely impacted the economy.

strategic impact measures

— Manuel MarreroThe Prime Minister defended the reforms, emphasizing their strategic importance without altering the socialist system.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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