The Cuban regime will allow the inheritance of lands granted in usufruct

The Cuban government announced that lands granted in usufruct can be inherited, a modification that would change one of the most sensitive aspects of the current legal framework for the exploitation of state lands.

The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca during a meeting with producers, where it was also revealed that claims related to inheritances and other land disputes will now fall under the jurisdiction of the courts and the Justice departments.

Since the establishment of the usufruct program through the in 2008, land has remained state property, and the continuation of its use after the death of the usufructuary was subject to specific administrative procedures. The successive reforms, including the of 2018, upheld this principle.

With the new announcement, the Executive of Miguel Díaz-Canel assures that the rights derived from usufruct can be transmitted through inheritance, although the details of its application and the legal conditions, which must be defined in the corresponding regulations, are still unknown.

The measure is part of the economic reform package initiated by the government to encourage agricultural production and utilize lands that remain idle across various provinces of the country.

The possibility of inheriting usufruct has been one of the most frequently voiced demands by producers, who have long sought greater guarantees to ensure the continuity of family farms and justify long-term investments in permanent crops, infrastructure, or improvements to the properties.

The uncertainty about the future of the land following the usufructuary's death had been identified as one of the factors discouraging such investments.

The announcement comes in the context of successive reforms to the usufruct regime initiated since 2008. The government first authorized the transfer of idle state lands, then expanded the maximum area that could be granted, relaxed certain requirements for producers, and regularized specific constructions made on the farms.

However, these modifications have not managed to resolve the structural problems of Cuban agriculture or to sustainably reduce the dependency on food imports.

Although the acknowledgment of the right to inherit represents a potentially significant change for thousands of usufructuaries, it will be necessary to wait for the publication of the new provisions in the Official Gazette to understand its real implications.

Among the aspects that have not yet been clarified are who will be able to inherit the usufruct, what requirements the successors must meet, and under what circumstances the State may extinguish that right.