The CARIBE Chain of Stores in Villa Clara has launched a public tender to hand over the management of nearly 20 kiosks and commercial spaces to self-employed workers, small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), and non-agricultural cooperatives.
The call covers establishments distributed across eight municipalities in the province, and interested parties have until September 4, 2026, to submit their documentation, according to a statement published on Facebook.
Santa Clara includes the kiosk "El Mercado" at the end of Buenviaje Street, and a space of 17.6 square meters in "La Nueva Riviera," located in the 12-Story Building on the Central Highway.
Camajuaní has the largest supply, with eight points of sale: "La Quinta," "Las Parrandas," "Nueva Imagen," "Variedades Carmita," "Macagual," "El Modelo," "El Ingenio," and "La Unidad Comercial."
In Remedios, five establishments are up for bidding: "Las Almendras," "La Mariposa," "El Exclusivo," "El Azucarero," and "Tahón." Cifuentes adds "El Laurel" in Mata and "La Unidad Juvenil" in San Diego del Valle.
The list is completed with "El Framboyán" in Quemado de Güines, "El Placer" in Ranchuelo, "Nazabal" in Encrucijada, and "El Coral" in Caibarién.
The documents must be submitted at the Headquarters of the Central Division, located at Carretera Central No. 13, between 2nd and 3rd, Sandino neighborhood, Santa Clara. There, the document outlining the requirements for the tender can also be consulted.
The State maintains ownership
The call does not imply the privatization of the establishments. The properties remain in state hands, and what is temporarily transferred is their management, through the mechanism established in Resolution 40/2022 of the Ministry of Domestic Trade.
The measure in Villa Clara is part of a growing handover of state-run establishments to private actors amid the difficulties faced by the state commercial apparatus to keep them functioning.
In July, CIMEX auctioned 12 commercial premises in Sancti Spíritus, including retail outlets, cafés, and a warehouse.
A month later, Cienfuegos handed over the management of 47 butcher shops to private entities, which is equivalent to 68% of those existing in the province, after the lack of products kept many of these establishments closed.
Also in August, Ciego de Ávila opened a bidding process for six warehouses as part of the "neighborhood markets" project.
Tiendas CARIBE has used the same strategy in other areas. In March, it put a property in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana, up for auction, and in July it did the same with two more locations in Holguín.
The successive tenders reveal an increasingly visible paradox in Cuban commerce: the State retains ownership of the establishments but turns to the private sector in an attempt to revitalize them due to its inability to manage them directly.
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