The Council of State of Cuba approved two decree laws this Thursday during an extraordinary session presided over by Esteban Lazo Hernández, as part of the implementation process of the largest package of economic reforms approved on the island in decades, according to the official source Granma.
The approved regulations are the decree law "On the Cuban State Business System" and the "Amendment to Decree Law no. 76 on Agricultural Cooperatives," both designed to update the regulatory framework governing the state economy in line with the 176 measures for economic and social transformation ratified by the National Assembly of People's Power on June 18 and 19 of this year.
The first decree law establishes the general principles of organization and operation of the state enterprise system under the leadership of the National Institute of State Business Assets (INAEES), an agency created in June 2026 to centralize the control of more than 2,000 state enterprises.
Roberto Ricardo Marrero, president of INAEES, stated that the regulation "addresses 16 of the 17 transformations related to Thematic Axis 1: Transformations in the management model of economic actors concerning the Socialist State Enterprise; as well as facilitates the implementation of 12 transformations from other axes."
Yovana Vega Mato, a member of the Ministry of Economy and Planning, described the regulation as "the platform that enables the state enterprise system, under the guidance of the National Institute of State Business Assets (INAEES), to exercise all powers and to carry out all the mandated transformations, which are linked with a set of legal norms currently being developed."
Esteban Lazo emphasized that the decree "reaffirms the state socialist enterprise as the main entity of the national economy," expands the autonomy of state-owned companies, and defines their corporate social responsibility.
The second decree amends the Decree Law 76 on Agricultural Cooperatives, effective from January 2024, and updates the regulations regarding the formation, organization, integration, and operation of these entities in line with ongoing reforms.
Both regulations will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic for the general awareness of the population.
The reforms approved in June by the Extraordinary Plenary of the Central Committee of the PCC include unprecedented structural changes since 1959, such as the authorization of private banking, the creation of a digital currency market, the removal of the 100-worker limit for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the possibility of bankruptcy and liquidation for state-owned companies experiencing sustained losses.
The process is not without its questions. Economist Pedro Monreal has warned that the creation of the INAEES may represent a recentralization of economic power, contradicting the official discourse of greater business autonomy, while sectors of the population fear that the elimination of subsidies and bankruptcy procedures could lead to massive unemployment and loss of access to basic services.
The 176 measures approved are organized into 23 thematic axes and also include direct access for private individuals and cooperatives to import and export, as well as a reduction in the number of ministries from 27 to 21.
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