October 10, 2026 — teleSUR
The Cuban government is promoting an economic reform that seeks to increase production, decentralize management, and expand opportunities for private and cooperative actors.
With 158 of the 176 approved transformations in the implementation phase, the challenge is to turn the changes into concrete results for the population, amidst the suffocation imposed by Washington .
The initiative comes at a critical time. The extraterritorial reach of Washington’s hostilities weighs heavily on fuel suppliers and shipping companies willing to operate with the island . It further limits the possibilities of attracting capital and developing new productive activities.
This reality cuts across every sector of the economy. It impacts transportation, agriculture, industry, electricity generation, and food distribution, with direct consequences for daily life . Economic transformation, therefore, presents a dual challenge: resisting external pressures and leveraging national resources through independent initiatives .
The reform of the Cuban business system expands the growth potential of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) , facilitates their participation in foreign trade, and opens new avenues for partnerships with foreign capital. The challenge will be to translate these transformations into production, employment, and territorial development, while remaining mindful of the country’s social needs.
The purpose, according to Cuban authorities, is not to privilege one form of ownership over another, but to build a more articulated business system , in which the different forms of management contribute to national priorities.
During a meeting with representatives of the private sector, President Miguel Díaz-Canel defended the need to establish a relationship between the aspirations of businessmen and the objectives of the country.
“What we are doing is to help Cuba grow and to create a suitable relationship between what you can aspire to as entrepreneurs and what the country aspires to, so that we can combine it into a framework where everyone benefits ,” he stated.
The initiative responds to a specific need: to increase national production of food, goods and services, reduce unproductive costs, incorporate technology and innovation and decrease dependence on finished products from abroad.
In this scenario, the private sector acquires a broader role within the Cuban economic strategy , although its expansion also raises questions about regulation, the distribution of benefits, and its effective contribution to collective well-being.
More room to grow: SMEs are transforming
The new regulations introduce significant changes to the operation of private micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) . Among the changes is the elimination or expansion of the previous limit of 100 employees, allowing private companies to grow beyond that number. It also authorizes a single individual to own or be a partner in more than one business.
Another significant change is the reduction in prohibited economic activities. According to available information, Decree 160 of 2026 reduces the list from 125 to 79 items, opening the possibility of creating new businesses under the corresponding conditions and authorizations.
The reforms also make wholesale trade more flexible , expand the activities that a company can carry out, and formalize the possibility of payment in foreign currency , provided that the requirements of banking legitimacy are met.
This is in addition to new possibilities for importing for commercial purposes, participating in public tenders and establishing links with foreign capital and foreign trade operations.
Decentralizing the authority to approve new micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to municipalities is another key part of the process. This measure aims to delegate certain decisions to local governments. Overall, these changes seek to reduce administrative hurdles and expand the scope of action for private businesses.
Foreign capital and foreign trade: new opportunities
One of the most relevant components of the transformations is the opening of new ways to connect Cuban private companies with foreign investment and international markets .
The package includes partnerships between domestic private businesses and foreign capital, as well as the possibility for private companies to participate directly in foreign trade without intermediaries. For the Cuban government, these opportunities will help attract foreign currency, incorporate technology, and access raw materials, equipment, and other resources that the economy needs.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, believes that partnerships with foreign capital will generate new growth dynamics. He also noted that the direct participation of private companies in foreign trade will simplify bureaucratic procedures.
The need for foreign currency is one of the main challenges facing the Cuban economy. The Minister of Economy and Planning, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, warned that the country needs resources to acquire fuel, technology, and supplies that it does not produce domestically, and that all economic actors, both state and private, must contribute to obtaining them.
In parallel, the new portfolio of investment opportunities presented by the Government includes 426 projects nationwide, with a combined value exceeding US$30 billion. The sectors represented include oil, tourism, the sugar industry, food production, biopharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and mining.
The challenge is not only to attract capital, but to materialize the projects and ensure that the investments translate into benefits for local economies, just as Washington is designing its measures to prevent it.
What place should the private sector occupy in the Cuban economic model?
The expansion of business opportunities reopens a central debate: how to integrate private enterprise into a development model that maintains state control of the economy and preserves its social objectives? For economist and professor Ayuban Gutiérrez , first vice president of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC) , all forms of ownership must be aligned with a national development project.
From that perspective, “the private sector responds to an objective need of the economy, but its activity must be coordinated with the country’s priorities and territorial strategies,” he explained during the television program Cuadrando la caja.
The debate is not limited to how much a company can grow or how much capital it can accumulate; but rather what it produces, how many jobs it generates, how it relates to other economic actors, and what contribution it makes to the development of communities.
Díaz-Canel has insisted that the effectiveness of an economic project should not be measured solely by the revenue it generates, but also by its contribution to families, youth employment, community development, and national sovereignty. This approach raises a fundamental question: how to ensure that business expansion contributes to addressing the population’s concrete needs , rather than exacerbating inequalities or exploiting existing deficiencies.
Regulate without slowing production
Expanding the private sector also requires establishing clear rules and oversight mechanisms to prevent speculative practices, tax evasion, corruption, hoarding, and prices disconnected from the population’s means .
During the meeting with business leaders, Díaz-Canel warned that the private sector cannot become a breeding ground for illegal activities or practices that harm society as a whole . The challenge lies in finding a balance between regulation and incentives. A stable regulatory framework, clear tax rules, and improved conditions for the functioning of markets for goods, services, and financing will stimulate productive activity while also facilitating state oversight.
Economist and researcher Rafael Montejo has emphasized the importance of accompanying these transformations with regulations, initiatives, development funds, and financing mechanisms that allow municipalities to boost their own economies . Therefore, decentralization requires projects that connect the potential of each territory with the needs of its people.
It also raises the question of what more can be done. Among the proposals put forward in the Cuban debate are moving toward more equal exchange rates for economic actors, prioritizing subsidies directed at individuals rather than specific products, and strengthening private sector participation in local development projects.
One example mentioned is the provision of pensions to retirees by the private sector in the Havana municipality of Playa. Although not yet widespread, it illustrates how companies can directly contribute to addressing social needs at the local level.
The US blockade, another obstacle for private entrepreneurs
US measures against Cuba are not limited to state institutions. They also impact private businesses that need to make international payments, acquire goods, or receive funds from abroad.
The new regulations from the U.S. Treasury Department (approved last September 30) restrict certain banking operations linked to Cuba and eliminate so-called U-turn transactions , which allowed certain international payments to be processed through the U.S. financial system.
Now, the restrictions make it difficult for Cuban business owners to pay international suppliers and reduce the legal avenues for families to send money to the island .
These limitations contrast sharply with Washington’s rhetoric about its supposed support for Cuban private entrepreneurs . In practice, difficulties accessing financial services and conducting international transactions can hinder small businesses’ ability to import raw materials, maintain operations, and expand their activities.
American economist and professor Joy Gordon has questioned the scope of these sanctions and their effects on essential sectors of Cuban society. Her research shows that these pressure tactics “indiscriminately strangle civil society and the most progressive sectors of the island.”
The well-being of the population as a priority
The 176 measures open new possibilities for the growth of private companies , partnerships with foreign capital, and participation in foreign trade. But their success will not depend solely on the number of companies authorized or the volume of investment announced .
The challenge will be to translate legal and financial opportunities into more food, goods and services produced in the country; new jobs; better wages; greater export capacity and an effective contribution to local development .
As the Cuban economic debate suggests, the transformation must be understood as a system in which people are paramount . Success will be measured by how much these changes contribute to improving the lives of Cubans, while preserving Cuba’s capacity to determine its own course on the path to socialism.
Author: Alejandra García
Source: TeleSUR
