The Caribe Store Chain opened a call on Thursday to lease 17 commercial spaces distributed across four municipalities in the province of Santiago de Cuba, aimed at self-employed workers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and other entities interested in managing state-owned premises.
The offer, published by the Eastern South Division of the state chain through its profile on Facebook, includes retail spaces, kiosks, warehouses, and a line for processing fresh products distributed among the municipalities of Santiago de Cuba (11 locations), Palma Soriano (four), San Luis (one), and Contramaestre (one).
Among the available spaces in the provincial capital are the Sales Floor 21 de Abril (José Antonio Saco No. 408), the Sales Floor La Mariposa (Abel Santamaría neighborhood), the Sales Floor Las Brisas (Alto de Quintero), the Ciudamar Store (Ciudamar neighborhood), and Line 2 of the Fresh Processing and Distribution Center, located on Avenida Raúl Pujols, according to a report from the official newspaper Sierra Maestra.
In Palma Soriano, four places are listed: the La Campana Palma Sales Floor, the La Hogareña Warehouse, the Nito Ortega Kiosk, and the La Única Kiosk, all located on or near Martí Street.
The municipalities of San Luis and Contramaestre each contribute a venue: Kiosco Chile (Batey Central Chile) and Piso de Venta Variedades Baire (the town of Baire), respectively.
The deadline for submitting applications is from October 8 to October 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at the offices of the Southern Eastern Division, located at Avenida Raúl Pujols No. 311, between streets 11 and 13, Vista Alegre neighborhood, Santiago de Cuba.
Each applicant must submit a written request for the space of interest, their personal information, the legal documentation that accredits them as an economic agent, and a business project in a sealed envelope.
According to the official document of the call, "the sealed envelope will be opened in the presence of a Notary Public, who will attest to this act," during the session of the Bidding Committee.
Tiendas Caribe has already put out a call for proposals for venues in Havana, Holguín, and, in August, 21 kiosks and locations in Villa Clara.
In Santiago de Cuba, Islazul launched a bidding process in September for bars, restaurants, and cafeterias at 10 tourist facilities, and the Antonio Maceo international airport called for bids in August from private parties to manage culinary spaces.
The legal framework supporting these processes is Resolution 40/2022 from the Ministry of Interior Trade, strengthened in August with the approval by the State Council of the Decree-Law on Bidding, which elevates this mechanism to a general method for transferring the management of state spaces to non-state actors.
Critics warn, however, that the proliferation of these calls is not due to a development policy but rather to the state's inability to sustain its own commercial network. The government retains ownership of the properties and only transfers temporary management, without stable legal guarantees for private entrepreneurs and with the latent risk of the contract being revoked at any moment.
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