A leaked document circulated by the Cuban activist Magdiel Jorge Castro reveals that the authorities in Cienfuegos are preparing a measure that could require small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes) and self-employed workers in the province to take on part of the funding for social services that have traditionally been the responsibility of the State.
Under the euphemism of "community social responsibility," the document requires that each private business adopts at least three commitments from a predetermined list, incorporates them into its planning, and demonstrates compliance with documentary evidence every three months.
The obligations range from supporting dining facilities of the Family Care System, nursing homes, maternity homes, and centers for children without parental care, to donating products to social institutions.
They also require micro, small, and medium enterprises to offer discounted prices for vulnerable individuals, contribute to healthcare, education, culture, and sports services, engage in community sanitation efforts, support public and healthcare transportation, provide funeral assistance to families in need, and enter into banking agreements to facilitate payments to retirees and pensioners.
The measure, proposed as a "contract" between the municipal government and the economic actor, would be valid from the signing of the document until December 31, 2026 and would be renewable each year.
Although the document presents the scheme as a voluntary collaboration, the leak indicates that some self-employed workers may have already been called to sign the "contract" related to these obligations.
The "voluntariness" is also called into question by the sanctions regime in place. Those who fail to comply without justification will face reprimands, negative evaluations in municipal records, loss of incentives, and notification to regulatory bodies in the non-state sector.
The text does not establish public criteria for distributing responsibilities based on the type of activity, the income of each venture, or the needs of each municipality, leaving ample room for the discretion of local authorities.
In June 2026, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz presented a package of 176 economic measures to the National Assembly. Among them, the so-called "Measure 70" stands out, which requires all economic actors to directly finance the social assistance system, from pension payments to funeral services.
In July, the Central Bank extended nationwide the scheme by which local businesses take on the responsibility of paying pensions to nearby retirees using cash from their own sales.
That same month, the governor of Granma, Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez, called upon the MIPYMES and self-employed workers of Manzanillo to demand that they take on, among other responsibilities, the payment of pensions in a municipality whose provincial government admitted it did not have the more than 400 million pesos needed to cover its 111,000 retirees.
In August, the regime privatized the management of the SAF dining halls through Agreement 10418 of the Council of Ministers.
Cuban entrepreneurs are also facing pressure from abroad. On September 30, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) revoked the authorization that allowed banks under U.S. jurisdiction to maintain accounts for private Cuban entrepreneurs and ordered the freezing of those funds, hitting a sector already suffocated by power outages, taxes, shortages, and inspections.
As of the time of publication, the authorities in Cienfuegos had not officially reported on the initiative nor specified how many establishments would be affected by the alleged official contract.
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