Miguel Díaz-Canel presented this Wednesday at the Extraordinary Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba what he termed an “emergency economic and social agenda,” the most ambitious package of reforms announced by the regime in years, which includes the elimination of price caps and the opening to foreign direct investment in the national private sector.
The announcement came amid the worst economic crisis on the Island since the Special Period, with projections from CEPAL predicting a decline of 6.5% in Cuba's GDP in 2026 and an accumulated contraction of nearly 26% since 2020.
"What we aim to implement is an emergency economic and social agenda with measures that are part of our government program and policies approved by the party, along with decisions that cannot continue to be delayed. Some may not have absolute consensus, but they are urgent, and all will have a responsible party named, a defined timeline, an indicator to measure compliance, and a public accountability before the nation," declared Díaz-Canel.
One of the most striking announcements was the end of general price controls, a policy that the president himself acknowledged as a failure: "Price ceilings practically failed to contain inflation. They often led to product shortages, a shift to illegal markets, higher prices, reduced tax revenue, and an impossible race between actual prices and administrative decisions that always came too late."
In terms of economic openness, Díaz-Canel announced that the regime will authorize foreign direct investment in the private sector, including MSMEs, "with clear rules on property, repatriation, reinvestment, and dispute resolution."
The package also includes the elimination of mandatory intermediaries in foreign trade, the opening up to private and foreign financial institutions, the review of the list of activities prohibited to the private sector, and the reduction of the ministerial apparatus from 27 to between 20 and 21 ministries.
In the agricultural sector, the leader was emphatic: "The food of the Cuban people will be treated as what it is: a matter of national security, and idle land in Cuba must come to an end."
He also promised to expand the provision of land in usufruct and to allow producers to import inputs directly.
Díaz-Canel also admitted that part of the economic paralysis is the government's own responsibility: "There are obstacles that do not come from outside or from blockades. There is slowness, bureaucracy, regulations that hinder those who want to produce, and decisions that we have postponed. What depends on us, we must change ourselves, and we must change it now."
The PCC approved the reform package that same Wednesday, the 17th, with the participation of Raúl Castro via videoconference, who signed the supporting document.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz presented the technical report and emphasized that "these transformations do not represent a deviation from our socialist project."
The citizen reaction on social media was one of widespread skepticism and mockery, while economist Pedro Monreal warned that without access to energy, foreign currency, or technology the reforms are unlikely to succeed.
Within the Plenary itself, the rector of the University of Havana, Miriam Nicado García, warned about the risk that the measures could exacerbate inequalities and lead to greater concentration of wealth.
This Thursday, the National Assembly is holding an extraordinary session to formally endorse the package, in an accelerated institutional process that the regime has presented as a sign of urgency in light of the severity of the crisis.
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