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Cuban lawmakers analyzed in the National Capitol a new bill on Property, Possession, and Use of Land, presented as a tool to "regulate the ownership, transfer, and use of land in accordance with agricultural development, food sovereignty, rurality, and social justice."
However, in the meeting report released by the official Canal Caribe, the regime does not provide figures to support the claim that this new legal initiative will resolve the country's food problem.
The proposal was discussed by deputies from municipalities in Havana and by lawmakers from other territories via videoconference, during a session led by senior government officials and members of the agricultural sector.
The official approach insists that the country needs a more coherent legal framework for the agricultural sector, but the available content itself emphasizes regulations rather than verifiable productive balances.
A new project to "perfect" the agrarian model
According to the legal director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mayra Cruz Legón, the project aims to integrate and update scattered legal provisions to provide Cuba with a "coherent and modern" legal framework.
In his presentation, he emphasized that the current agricultural regulations lack a single, clear place where key concepts such as agricultural producer, agricultural and forestry land, and other guiding principles are defined.
Among the principles that the future law aims to regulate are: land for those who work it, the indivisibility of land, and the social function of land.
For his part, Ramón Aguilar Betancourt, president of the Agro-Food Commission of the National Assembly of People's Power, argued that the proposal addresses the need to strengthen the institutional framework of the agricultural sector and ensure a rational and sustainable use of resources.
Aguilar stated that, after hearing different opinions, the process would allow for "closing the legislative chain to improve the agricultural production model in Cuba."
It was also emphasized that the text was likely developed collectively with the participation of experts, producers, and the deputies themselves.
As a precursor to the project, the report states that, following specialized consultations conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, seven exchange workshops were held with the participation of over 300 people.
In addition to the Havana deputies, legislators from other regions of the country also examined the project via videoconference, with the participation of figures such as Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power and the Council of State; Minister of Agriculture, Idael Pérez Brito; and chairs of parliamentary committees, among other guests.
Too much regulation, few visible results
The focus of the debate was on land ownership, transmission, and legal utilization, as well as the updating of legal concepts and principles.
But it does not provide figures on harvests, yields, production volumes, or supply indicators that would allow us to measure whether these legal changes have actually resulted in more food for the population.
In that sense, the Cuban state is merely promoting another regulatory adjustment regarding land and presenting it as part of the improvement of the agricultural model.
However, in the midst of the food crisis affecting Cuba, there are no visible short-term solutions for food production.
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