The economist Elías Amor did not take long to express his verdict on the package of economic measures presented by Miguel Díaz-Canel during the extraordinary plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba: "Everything that has been presented to us is a great deception, to summarize," he stated in an interview with Tania Costa.
The extraordinary plenary session of the PCC was held on June 17 and 18, 2026 and endorsed a package of 176 economic and social transformations, the largest reform attempt by the regime in decades, which includes greater autonomy for state enterprises, openness to foreign investment in the private sector, and a reduction in the number of ministries.
For Amor, the story provides ample reasons for skepticism.
"There have been previous experiences, such as when Raúl Castro came to power with the guidelines. What happened? Well, after a while they reversed course because, for whatever reason, there was no political will," noted the economist, referring to the reforms approved at the VI Congress of the PCC in 2011.
That process promised an "updating of the model" with more room for non-state management, but subsequent evaluations revealed that by 2018, only 21% of the guidelines had been implemented.
"I am very afraid, unfortunately, that many of these measures will be reversed," warned Amor.
The first axis of the package—covering actions related to state-owned enterprises and non-state economic actors—has already raised concerns regarding its terminology.
"Why is there still talk about non-state actors? Wouldn't it be easier to speak of private entities and public entities? I understand that they are reluctant to use the term private; they avoid it like the plague," he questioned.
Regarding the measure that expands the autonomy of state-owned enterprises to operate under conditions similar to other economic actors, Amor was emphatic. "I honestly believe that whoever drafted this measure is a brainless communist because, in Cuba, a self-employed worker or a small and medium-sized enterprise does not have the level of operation, autonomy, and power that a state enterprise has."
The economist also questioned the decentralization of wholesale and retail price setting towards the state-owned enterprises, interpreting it not as a real liberalization, but as a transfer of control from the ministry to those same entities.
Regarding the OSDEs —Higher Business Management Organizations— Amor was straightforward: "If you really want the Cuban economy to improve, become more prosperous, and function better, eliminate the OSDEs, as they are useless."
The underlying diagnosis supporting their skepticism is devastating. By the end of May 2026, 363 state-owned Cuban companies reported losses, which is 44% more than in the same period of 2025, with declared deficits exceeding 5.3 billion pesos.
In that context, Amor summarized his position with an image that defines the state of the Cuban state enterprise. "The state enterprise is one of the great failures of the Cuban communist regime. It is something that does not work."
The economist does not rule out that some measures in the package may be innovative, but he warns that the political will to sustain them over time is the same variable that already buried the reforms of 2011, and nothing in the regime's behavior suggests that this time will be different.
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