DistantNews
Support us
Cuban economists call for political change alongside economic reform
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Cuban economists call for political change alongside economic reform

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Five Cuban economists propose an "integral" economic reform for the island that must include political and institutional transformation.
  • Their goal is to build a social market economy within a democratic rule of law.
  • The proposal emphasizes that Cuba faces its deepest crisis due to converging internal and external factors, including economic model exhaustion and U.S. sanctions.

Five prominent Cuban economists have put forth a proposal for an "integral" economic reform on the island, asserting that it must be accompanied by significant political and institutional changes. Their vision is to construct a social market economy underpinned by a democratic state governed by the rule of law.

Cuba needs to undertake a comprehensive transformation process that allows it to stabilize the economy, recover its productive and institutional capacities, and build a new development model capable of generating prosperity, equity, and opportunities for all citizens.

— The expertsDescribing the necessity of an integral reform for Cuba's future.

The experts, Mauricio de Miranda, Pedro Monreal, Omar Everleny Pérez, Ricardo Torres, and Pavel Vidal, detail their plan in a 120-page document. They argue that Cuba requires a comprehensive transformation process to stabilize its economy, restore productive and institutional capacities, and establish a new development model that fosters prosperity, equity, and opportunities for all citizens. They stress that the crisis's magnitude makes "partial measures or administrative adjustments" unviable.

The economists acknowledge that achieving these changes necessitates progress in negotiations between Havana and Washington to alleviate sanctions, alongside substantial international political and financial support. Internally, they call for "political conditions" to initiate a shift away from the current model, stating the crisis reflects the "exhaustion" of both the political and economic systems.

Cuba needs to undertake a comprehensive transformation process.

— The expertsEmphasizing the scale of change required to address the crisis.

The proposal, which does not analyze the Cuban government's recent reform plan, highlights that the island's crisis is not merely circumstantial or solely due to U.S. pressure, although that has significantly worsened the situation. Cuba is experiencing its most profound economic and social crisis in contemporary history, resulting from a confluence of internal and external factors, the depletion of its economic model, and policy errors, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions. Key difficulties include deep decapitalization, deteriorating public finances, an energy crisis, financial system limitations, and restricted access to external financing.

More than a sectoral problem, this situation is one of the main restrictions.

— The expertsReferring to the critical energy crisis affecting Cuba.
DistantNews Editorial

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

More Stories

From Our Blog