Despite the announcement this Thursday of a mega package of economic reforms aimed at reviving the struggling national economy with capitalist solutions, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel insisted on defending socialism "the Cuban way" during the Third Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly of People's Power.
"We are not renouncing socialism", he repeated twice in front of members of the regime's leadership and parliamentarians, gathered in Havana for a session called just 48 hours earlier by the Council of State, which formally approved 176 economic measures, including the authorization of private financial institutions, the establishment of private currency exchange houses, the opening up to foreign investment in the non-state sector, the relaxation of rules for small and medium enterprises, the removal of general price caps, and a reform of the subsidy system, among others.
The leader attempted to reconcile that contradiction by appealing to a unique formula: "Cuban-style socialism." He justified this by referencing the contributions of economists without going into detail, citing as an "important" reference the report presented by them at the last congress of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC). Additionally, he stated that his government has studied "the experiences of socialist construction in other countries" and "the debate happening in the country" before designing the reforms.
Díaz-Canel admitted that they are "trying to defend" the Cuban economic and political model in "an extremely complex moment," "the most complex that the revolution has ever experienced," although —according to him— "the revolution has never had it easy."
Despite this, he asserted categorically that changes were inevitable regardless of the circumstances: "I believe this had to be done anyway. Whether we experienced this moment or not."
However, immediately after, he acknowledged that the approved measures are not new. “We have reached a moment of maturity, of a public debate in our country on how to perfect socialism, which, at the very least, dates back to the sixth party congress and beyond,” he said, referring to the meeting of the communist membership held in 2011; while also warning that many of the proposals were already included in the initial version of the economic guidelines. “In other words, we had to go this route anyway,” he affirmed, in a clear recognition that the regime has been postponing decisions it now defends as essential for more than 15 years — if not decades — delaying decisions it now claims are necessary.
The leader also pointed out internal obstacles, marking a partial break from the official discourse that typically blames the economic crisis on the U.S. embargo: “There are hurdles 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.”
The 176 measures approved this Thursday are organized into 23 strategic axes and resulted from the evaluation of 390 proposals, of which the regime incorporated 66.7%. Among the most significant changes are the authorization of private banking for the first time since 1959, the conversion of state enterprises into joint-stock companies, the elimination of the limit of 100 workers for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), the creation of private currency exchange houses, and the gradual introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT).
According to official reports, former president Raúl Castro participated via videoconference in the extraordinary session of the National Assembly and supported the reforms, although he issued a warning that encapsulates the accumulated skepticism: "As important as the approval of these reforms is their proper and timely implementation."
The citizen reaction was marked by skepticism. Phrases like "Does anyone believe them?" and "the same dog with a different collar" circulated widely on social media.
The economist Pedro Monreal described the process as "late pragmatism" and warned that Cuba missed the opportunity to undertake gradual reforms in the style of China or Vietnam, when the conditions were less adverse.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) projects a GDP contraction of 6.5% for 2026, which would make Cuba the worst-performing economy in the region for the second consecutive year.
Filed under: