The new , published this week in the Official Gazette as part of the package of 176 economic transformations driven by the Cuban government, confirms that the regime is willing to partially relax the economy, but not to relinquish its absolute control over information.
While the new regulations eliminate or relax restrictions on dozens of economic activities, they expressly maintain state monopoly over journalism, media, and the dissemination of news information.
The contrast is significant. The very reform package, presented by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz in June, opened the door to unprecedented changes such as the expansion of the private sector, private banking, greater participation of foreign capital, and new forms of investment, in an attempt to address the worst economic crisis Cuba has faced in decades.
However, when it comes to the flow of information, the State maintains censorship, manipulation, and restrictions intact.
Without private newspapers, without news agencies, and without independent journalists
The Decree 160 prohibits non-state economic actors from publishing newspapers, magazines, editorial content, and publishing labels.
It also prohibits news agencies and news information services, considering that "public information is reserved by its nature."
The regulation also reserves radio and television broadcasts for the State, along with a significant portion of telecommunications services related to content distribution.
Although it authorizes certain technical services or audiovisual productions under specific regulations, it does not recognize the possibility of creating independent media outlets.
One of the most striking sections of the decree is numeral 67 of the Single Annex, which explicitly states:
"Journalist activities. Unauthorized activity for non-state economic actors."
That is to say, journalism continues to be an activity that the Cuban state does not recognize as an independent professional practice within the legal economic framework.
Economic reforms without political openness
The persistence of these prohibitions highlights that the reforms announced by the government focus on the economic sphere, while the mechanisms of political control over information remain unchanged.
The very Decree 160 reserves not only journalistic activity to the State but also radio, television, news agencies, and the publication of newspapers and magazines, consolidating the state monopoly and the control of the Communist Party of Cuba over the main channels of public information.
In practice, this means that any independent journalistic project continues to operate outside the Cuban legal framework, with no possibility of being established as a private company, cooperative, or micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise.
Press freedom: an outstanding issue
Freedom of the press is recognized by various international human rights instruments as an essential element of a democratic society.
It encompasses the possibility of establishing media outlets, researching, publishing information, and expressing opinions without undue interference from public authorities.
The new decree highlights that, despite the economic reforms, the Cuban state keeps the institutional exercise of information reserved for itself and continues to not legally recognize a space for private or independent media.
The decision also has implications for other closely related freedoms, such as freedom of expression, freedom of thought, and academic or teaching freedom, the exercise of which largely depends on the existence of an environment where ideas, research, and information can circulate freely.
With the entry into force of Decree 160 on August 4, the Cuban regime aims to modernize part of its decaying economic framework, but preserves one of the historical pillars of its totalitarian political model: the state monopoly on information and the lack of legal recognition for independent journalism.
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