Economist Elías Amor enthusiastically supported two of the most striking measures in the package of economic reforms presented by the Cuban regime: the opening of Cuban franchises abroad —including the legendary Tropicana cabaret— and the removal of restrictions for Cubans to buy cars. However, this support comes with a condition: he backs it "to the extent that it represents a radical change in the model of the Cuban economy, otherwise it will result in failure."
Amor analyzed these points in the fourth and final program dedicated to the 176 economic measures approved by the National Assembly on June 18, 2026, after being announced by Díaz-Canel on June 12 and supported by the Communist Party on the 17th of the same month.
Within the tourist sector —one of the most extensive parts of the package, featuring 13 measures— the economist highlighted the proposal to create Cuban franchises abroad: Casas Cuba, Casas de Habanos, la Bodeguita del Medio, el Floridita, and Tropicana. "Go ahead, go ahead, because I will be a user of those services," he stated.
Amor recalled that years ago in Madrid, there was a Cuban restaurant that many discouraged visiting because it was "from the regime." "It provides me good service and makes me feel like I'm in Cuba, even 6,000 kilometers away, so I will go to that Cuban franchise just like I go to the McDonald's franchises," he noted.
The economist went further by evoking a family memory: his grandparents visited the Tropicana in Havana in the 1940s, and he imagines being able to enjoy that same show in Spain in 2030. "Me inside a Tropicana in Madrid or in Valencia, if they set one up in Valencia, would make me think that my grandparents went to that Tropicana in Havana in the 1940s and their grandson is in 2030, if I haven't died, enjoying a Tropicana in any country in the world," he said.
The economist described the measure as "magnificent" with one condition: that it actually generates income. Regarding the tourism sector as a whole, he noted that its proposals "seem to be drawn from the recommendations of some old economist who cares deeply for Cuba."
The contrast with the transportation sector, however, was striking. In front of the 13 measures dedicated to tourism, the regime allocated only three to the transportation sector, which Amor considers to be in total collapse.
"Where there is no way to generate 'money' like with tourism, 13 measures. When transportation in Cuba is useless because it needs to be fundamentally changed, three measures to see how we end up," he scoffed.
Among those three, the economist emphasized the one that would have the most direct impact on the everyday lives of Cubans: the removal of restrictions on vehicle acquisition by individuals and legal entities. "In other words, Cubans will finally be able to own cars," he summarized.
The last comparable precedent in vehicle matters dates back to 2011, when the regime allowed the buying and selling of used cars between individuals. The current package also includes tariff priority for the importation of electric and solar vehicles.
Amor noted, however, that the regime will only implement those measures that do not jeopardize the communist structure, and that within the nomenclature itself, two sensitivities have emerged: a reformist one and a reactionary one that demands all changes respect the socialist Constitution. In this context, the economist has characterized the entire package as a negotiation letter with the United States rather than a true economic transition.
Filed under: