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

The Cuban government announced that land 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-owned land.

The announcement was made by the 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 fall under the jurisdiction of the courts and the Justice Departments.

Since the creation of the usufruct program through the in 2008, the land has remained the property of the State, and the continuity of its exploitation after the death of the usufructuary was subject to specific administrative procedures. Subsequent 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 by 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 package of economic reforms promoted by the government to encourage agricultural production and utilize lands that remain idle in various provinces of the country.

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

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

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

However, those modifications have not managed to resolve the structural problems of Cuban agriculture nor sustainably reduce the dependence on food imports.

Although the recognition 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 regulations in the Official Gazette to understand its true scope.

Among the aspects that have yet to be clarified are who will be able to inherit the usufruct, what requirements the heirs must meet, and under what circumstances the State may extinguish that right.