Cuba’s Communist Party has approved a broad package of economic reforms that would significantly expand the role of private enterprise and foreign investment in the island’s economy, marking what officials described as a necessary response to mounting economic challenges.
The measures were presented to Cuba’s National Assembly on Thursday and are widely expected to gain approval.
The package comes as Cuba faces intensified pressure from the United States, including sanctions and restrictions that officials say have deepened the country’s economic difficulties.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the country’s situation could not be attributed solely to external factors, arguing that internal inefficiencies and delayed decisions had also contributed to the crisis.
The proposed reforms would open the door to private real estate development, allow state-owned companies to become private commercial ventures with shares and equity stakes, and permit private banks to operate in Cuba’s traditionally state-controlled financial sector.
The package would also reduce bureaucratic barriers for private businesses and entrepreneurs while creating new opportunities for foreign investment, including from Cubans living abroad.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero told lawmakers that the reforms recognize the market as “an instrument for the efficient allocation of resources.”
He said the measures remain consistent with Cuba’s socialist framework and are intended to improve living conditions for citizens.
The reform package consists of 175 measures and would represent one of the most significant transformations of Cuba’s economic model since the 1959 revolution if fully implemented.
Cuban leaders linked the urgency of the reforms to growing economic strain caused by U.S. sanctions, including a months-long oil blockade that has affected key sectors such as tourism and foreign investment.
Diaz-Canel acknowledged that some reforms may face resistance within the Communist Party but said they could no longer be delayed.
Former leader Raul Castro backed the proposals and called for their rapid implementation.
The developments coincided with increased pressure from the European Union, which approved a resolution calling for sanctions against Diaz-Canel and senior officials while urging broader economic and political changes.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington was engaged in discussions with Cuba and suggested relations could improve if the Cuban government adopted reforms.