Cuba’s former president Raul Castro on Wednesday endorsed a set of liberal economic reforms aimed at reviving the country’s collapsing economy under a long-standing US blockade.
AFP reported that the Cuban government has unveiled fast-track measures to open more sectors to private investment, attract foreign capital from Cubans abroad, and reduce the size of the state sector.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel has described the reforms as the most significant in years. Some proposals are expected to be approved by the National Assembly on Thursday, just a week after they were announced.
The Communist Party politburo held an extraordinary plenary session on Wednesday to review the reform package.
Castro, widely viewed as a key power figure in Cuba’s political system, supported the proposals in a letter presented to the meeting. He called them “the most beneficial to the revolution at this time.”
The nonagenarian leader, who governed Cuba for 15 years after taking over from his brother Fidel Castro in 2006, was recently indicted by the United States over the downing of two civilian aircraft three decades ago.
It remains unclear whether the reforms will satisfy US President Donald Trump, who has pushed for broader changes to Cuba’s economic model.
The Cuban economy has been under severe strain from an oil blockade imposed by Trump in January. The crisis has triggered prolonged power cuts, sometimes lasting more than 30 hours, along with shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine.
A Havana-based small private supermarket owner told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that he welcomed any change that could revive what he described as a “dying patient,” referring to the economy.
The government, currently in talks with Washington, has indicated new investment opportunities for Cubans at home and abroad across multiple sectors.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said on X that the reforms “in no way imply relinquishing the social responsibility of the state.”
Private businesses, which have been allowed to employ up to 100 workers since 2021, have become an expanding part of the economy.
Diaz-Canel said Cubans would receive the same conditions as foreign investors, some of whom have recently withdrawn due to US sanctions.
He also announced plans to downsize the state by reducing ministries and public sector staff.
Some measures repeat earlier proposals, including expanded autonomy for state-owned enterprises, which account for about 80 percent of economic activity.
