The Cuban government announced on Thursday a significant transformation of commerce, gastronomy, and services that paves the way for foreign franchises, enhances the role of the private sector, and moves towards the gradual elimination of widespread subsidies.
The transformations included in Axis 19 of the package of 176 reforms approved by the Communist Party of Cuba represent one of the most profound changes in commercial activities since the regime came to power in 1959, as highlighted by the package of measures published by the official newspaper Granma.
The measures shift part of the economic prominence from the State to private, cooperative, and foreign actors in sectors that had remained under strict government control for decades.
The first change involves modifying the state management policy for commerce, gastronomy, and services to prioritize non-state management forms and foreign investment modalities.
The decision implies an implicit acknowledgment of the state's inability to maintain a commercial network capable of meeting the needs of the population.
As part of this process, the government authorized the creation of chains of stores, restaurants, and establishments offering light dining, which will be able to expand throughout the national territory.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz confirmed that both private entrepreneurs and foreign investors will be able to develop national commercial networks, removing restrictions that had previously prevented small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes) from growing beyond a single establishment or a limited number of locations.
The opening also includes a formal invitation to international fast-food franchises to invest in Cuba. This announcement breaks decades of absence of such business models on the island and opens the possibility for foreign brands to establish their own operations or through agreements with local partners.
Another significant transformation is the authorization for foreign entities based in Cuba to market products and provide services directly, including branches and representations.
The measure complements the recent openness to foreign investment in private Cuban companies and broadens the scope of action for international capital within the national economy.
The government also aims to reorganize wholesale trade by creating supply markets with direct access for individuals and legal entities.
According to the announced measures, there will be no limits for the actors engaging in this activity, in an attempt to alleviate one of the main bottlenecks facing the private sector: the lack of stable access to supplies and materials.
The reforms also target informal vendors operating in neighborhoods and communities. The regime proposes to formalize these activities by creating a street vendor card and a simplified tax regime, incorporating thousands of people into the legal framework who have been engaging in commercial activities for years in a gray area between tolerance and illegality.
Among the measures is the establishment of an automated, digital, auditable, and public system for the bidding of state properties and assets to all economic actors.
The initiative aims to streamline access to commercial spaces and reduce some of the bureaucratic obstacles that the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel recently acknowledged as responsible for hindering economic activity.
The reform also paves the way for the exploitation of recreational parks, zoos, aquariums, protected areas, and lodging facilities through bids from state-owned, private, cooperative, or foreign companies.
The scheme will allow these actors to manage facilities traditionally overseen by state entities.
One of the most sensitive aspects of the package is the change in the food subsidy policy. The government confirmed that it will move from the regulated family basket to a system of controlled sales without subsidies in the commercial network.
The measure deepens the shift already announced by Díaz-Canel, who stated that the supply booklet will be limited to retirees, vulnerable individuals, and families with chronically ill children.
The decision represents one of the greatest setbacks for the universal rationing system established in 1962. For decades, the ration book was presented as one of the main social achievements of the Revolution, although in recent years its ability to ensure food has drastically diminished due to the economic and productive crisis.
The transformations also include the authorization for individuals to conduct commercial imports, although without granting them formal powers for foreign trade.
These operations will be subject to the payment of tariffs in foreign currency, in line with the increasing partial dollarization of the Cuban economy.
The measures come amidst an economic crisis that has forced the regime to reevaluate principles it had considered untouchable for decades.
The expansion of the private sector, the entry of foreign franchises, the opening of wholesale markets, and the reduction of universal subsidies reflect a shift driven by the inability of the state model to ensure supply and basic services.
Although the government presents these transformations as an update to Cuban socialism, the extent of the reforms highlights how the severity of the crisis has pushed the regime to adopt business and commercial mechanisms that were rejected or severely limited for ideological reasons for many years.
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