Related videos:
Cuban economist Pedro Monreal warned that the new regulation allowing partnerships between state-owned enterprises and private actors in Cuba could project an image of economic openness without truly transforming the centralized model that dominates the Cuban economy.
In an analysis published on his blog on Substack, Monreal argues that Decree-Law 144, officially released in March 2026, introduces an apparent “pro-capitalist” shift, but without altering the structural foundations of the state-controlled economic system.
Pedro Monreal questions the timing and scope of the new regulation
The economist points out that the timing of the regulation is noteworthy because it interrupts the logical sequence of the reform process that the regime has been promoting in recent years.
Since 2019, the update of the economic model had followed a gradual order: first the legal framework of the state enterprise system and then the regulation of Cuban micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, approved in 2024.
However, the legislation on joint ventures emerged without the prior approval of a new state enterprise law, which is regarded as the “main subject of the national economy” according to the Constitution.
Monreal recalls that the government had been working for years on a reform of the state-owned enterprise, which was even listed as a priority in the legislative schedule between 2023 and 2027. However, its approval has been repeatedly postponed, and its status remains uncertain.
In that context, the emergence of Decree-Law 144 —approved in December 2025 but made public only in March 2026— can be interpreted more as a political maneuver than as a structural economic reform.
For Monreal, the regulation can serve as an external signal intended to portray a supposed openness of the Cuban economic model, especially in a context of international pressure and potential negotiations with the United States.
"The content and timing of the approval allow the regulation to be perceived as a positive signal to the outside," notes the economist, although he warns that its actual impact on transforming the economic model remains uncertain.
The analyst also suggests that the legislation could become a discursive tool for the government to assert that the country is moving towards economic changes without altering state control over key sectors.
A new figure to associate state-owned enterprises and the private sector in Cuba
The regulations published in Official Gazette No. 24 establish, for the first time, a detailed legal framework for partnerships between state-owned enterprises and non-state actors, including Cuban small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives.
The Decree-Law establishes the figure of the mixed Limited Liability Company (SRL mixta), which allows for the creation of enterprises with shared capital between the State and the private sector in Cuba.
State-owned companies will be able to establish new partnerships with private MIPYMES, acquire stakes in existing businesses, absorb private companies, or sign economic association contracts without creating a new legal entity.
The government claims that these alliances aim to increase national production, capture foreign currency, and strengthen the so-called "productive linkages" within the Cuban economy, especially at the municipal level.
The central control remains decisive. All associations must be approved by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, which will oversee each operation through an evaluation committee.
Although the new companies will have the authority to import and export directly, manage foreign currency accounts, and set salaries, they will still be subject to state mechanisms for financial control and reporting of strategic indicators.
In the midst of a crisis marked by inflation, shortages, and a decline in purchasing power, the regime is attempting to incorporate the private sector in Cuba as a productive ally.
The big unknown is whether the new rules will truly invigorate the economy or if they will be constrained by the same bureaucratic structure that has hindered previous reforms.
Filed under: