The publication of the list with 125 prohibited economic activities for micro, small and medium private enterprises (Mipymes), non-agricultural cooperatives (CNA), and self-employed workers (TCP), in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba No. 78 of 2024, brought, among other news, the possible end of the known "weekly package."
The Package is a mix of entertainment, widely circulated on the Island for several years, that includes movies, shows, series, soap operas, cartoons, among other audiovisual products, and is distributed on an external hard drive of approximately 1 Terabyte.
The fear of the Cuban authorities is evident through the enactment of this new measure and Decree 107/2024, which regulates the activities that are not allowed for this sector of the country.
In that document, the regime states that “the activities that can be carried out by micro, small, and medium-sized private enterprises, non-agricultural cooperatives, and self-employed workers are those considered lawful, except for those regulated in the list of unauthorized activities, which is attached and forms an integral part of this Decree.”
In its number 61, belonging to the Section of “Information, communication and telecommunications”, it establishes that the activity of film exhibition, which includes movies, documentaries, series, novels, or other similar works, is prohibited; as well as making them available to the public through computer media.
For years, the alert about the content circulating in the so-called "weekly package" has been expressed by Cuban leaders.
Last year, the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the content of that “weekly package” was a "concern," for which he advocated introducing national production stories into it.
"It's not just about the issue of 'phones; there could be more concerns, everything that comes to us through the package, through a movie, and are we going to stop watching movies, are we going to stop using the phone?' he questioned during a meeting with Cuban lawmakers."
The package also includes applications and advertising content from several self-employed individuals who pay to promote their businesses. As a commercial initiative, it has served to seek development avenues for new entrepreneurs, who see it as a gateway to the broader public.
However, in 2018, the regime introduced censorship in this initiative by prohibiting certain television shows produced in Miami, and some news segments, including the newscasts from Telemundo and Univisión 23. The show TN3, hosted by Cuban presenter Carlos Otero, was also eliminated at that time.
It also prohibited the distribution of certain scenes from the series El Señor de los Cielos (Telemundo), which linked Cuba to drug trafficking.
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