HAVANA
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel unveiled proposals Friday to restructure the island’s national economy and redefine Cuba’s role in the global market amid US economic and energy sanctions.
Measures implemented by the administration of Donald Trump against Cuba have intensified, prompting the Communist Party-led government to pursue solutions beyond its traditional economic model, including incentives for private businesses, foreign investment and the importation of renewable energy technologies.
During a private news conference, the Cuban leader preliminarily announced a set of proposals that he said would define the country’s path forward in response to a “totally aggressive policy by the United States government.”
“I believe that is precisely what we need to discuss: How we are going to overcome these challenges and how we are already overcoming them? The United States cannot forgive the fact that, after all the maximum pressure it has exerted, the revolution still exists and the country continues to function. They themselves do not believe the narrative they constantly repeat about Cuba being a failed state,” said the leader of the Communist Party and president.
Diaz-Canel primarily focused on the need to reconfigure the centrally planned economy, a cornerstone of the island’s economic model and the legacy of the Cuban Revolution. He said the first step will be to grant greater authority to municipalities.
“Municipalities should have the authority to import and export and not depend on central plans. Municipal governments should be able to manage foreign-currency revenues and promote and oversee foreign direct investment within their territories in line with local interests,” he said.
Under the proposal, the country would decentralize powers, allowing municipalities to determine which companies and economic actors operate within their jurisdictions.
The reforms would also expand economic participation by private actors from abroad. Specifically, Diaz-Canel argued for the creation of mechanisms that facilitate investment in Cuba from Cubans living outside the island.
“Encouraging foreign direct investment requires granting land-use rights, removing obstacles, improving the use of bank accounts, shortening approval timelines, and ensuring faster responses throughout the investment process. We have also discussed two specific forms of investment in Cuba: that of residents abroad and that of Cubans living overseas, so that under equal conditions they can participate as economic actors alongside foreign direct investment and state-owned enterprises,” he said.
The president also indicated that his government is pursuing food sovereignty by encouraging local agricultural markets and expanding access to foreign currency through exchange markets.
Addressing the island’s energy needs, which he said have been severely affected by the “criminal blockade” imposed by the US, Diaz-Canel outlined measures to reduce dependence on external energy supplies.
“We continue to promote the use of renewable energy sources in every area and every sector. We are seeking to attract as many foreign companies as possible that can offer photovoltaic systems in the domestic market to state institutions, the population and non-state businesses. We want to multiply the opportunities available to us so that we become increasingly less dependent on electricity generation based on fuel, especially fossil fuels,” he said.
