The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) approved a package of economic and social transformations presented by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz this Wednesday during an Extraordinary Plenary held in Havana, as reported by the official outlet media outlet Cubadebate.
The session, presided over by Miguel Díaz-Canel in his capacity as the First Secretary of the PCC and President of the Republic, included more than twenty interventions from officials, academics, and leaders of mass organizations who discussed the urgency, scope, and risks of the measures.
One of the elements that the government presented as a sign of political legitimacy was the support of Raúl Castro, who participated via video conference and signed the document with the proposals.
According to the message read during the session, Castro "was consulted and is fully in agreement with the proposed transformations" and warned that "as important as the approval of these transformations is their proper and timely implementation."
The approved reforms involve changes in the business fabric, greater openness to national and foreign private capital, banking modernization, partial dollarization, territorial decentralization, and a reduction in the number of ministries from 27 to between 20 and 21.
It is also expected that municipalities will be able to import, export, and manage foreign currencies without intermediaries, and that Cubans residing abroad will be able to invest on equal terms with other economic actors.
Marrero Cruz insisted that the measures do not represent a departure from socialism: "We want to reiterate that these transformations do not constitute a deviation from our socialist project; on the contrary, they respond to the inherent logic of its development."
However, several participants in the debate pointed out that the main obstacle is not political but cultural. According to the state media Cubadebate, "among the greatest challenges for the implementation of the proposed measures is the change in mindset, the analysis of risks, as well as measuring the results."
Osnay Miguel Colina, president of the organizing committee of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba congress, described the proposal as "brave and bold," but warned that it "requires collective intelligence and a rigorous implementation," in addition to necessitating a review of the Labor Code.
Miriam Nicado García, rector of the University of Havana, warned about the risk that the implementation could exacerbate inequalities and lead to greater concentration of wealth, and urged the regime to maintain social justice throughout the process.
The reform package arrives amid a worsening economic crisis: according to projections from CEPAL, Cuba's GDP is expected to fall by 6.5% in 2026, with an accumulated contraction of 10.3% over the two-year period of 2025-2026 and a loss of nearly 26% since 2020.
This is compounded by blackouts exceeding 20 hours a day in some provinces, a sugar harvest below 150,000 tons—the lowest level in over a century—and emigration that surpassed 250,000 Cubans in 2024.
Díaz-Canel had announced these reforms on June 12, and the institutional process was accelerated: following the approval of the PCC this Wednesday, the deputies of the National Assembly will debate the measures in a special session called for this Thursday, June 18.
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