By , Granma International, July 1, 2026
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| Photo: Estudios Revolución |
"It's about, above all, saving the Revolution," emphasized the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, speaking at the most recent Council of Ministers meeting, which outlined the roadmap for implementing the approved economic and social reforms in the country."
"We must face this
challenge," he clarified, "without surrendering, with intelligence,
ideological firmness, responsibility, unity, courage, and audacity."
"That is what we, the
generations defending the Revolution, must do," he emphasized.
The president asserted that the
transformations are aimed at saving the Revolution, regardless of what the
enemies say. "Today, no country in the world is more attacked than Cuba,
with a multidimensional war, and we have the responsibility, under these
conditions, not only to save it, but also to continue perfecting our process of
socialist construction," he said.
In the session—led by Political
Bureau member and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz—the President stated that
"the primary goal is to unleash productive forces so that we can build
wealth and distribute it with social justice."
He indicated that everything that
unleashes productive forces must be implemented immediately because the first
response we must seek with these transformations is for all economic actors to
begin working with a different dynamic, one that cannot be the one reflected in
the Economic Plan report.
Díaz-Canel emphasized the priority
of approving everything that levels the playing field for economic actors. On
this point, he warned, "We are talking about the economic actors of
socialist construction, of our Economic and Social Model. Therefore, they are
the ones who will contribute to the National Economic and Social Development
Plan until 2030, the Government's Economic and Social Program for 2026, and the
territorial and local development strategies."
The Head of State considered legal
certainty a fundamental element. “The rules for everything we are going to do
must be clear; there must be transparency so that we can monitor, from both a
popular and institutional perspective, everything we do.”
The President reiterated the
urgency of "explaining how each transformation defends the construction of
socialism; how it will contribute to economic growth and social development;
how it will allow us to increase the wealth that we will distribute with social
justice and improve the situation of those who are most vulnerable; and how
each transformation will further strengthen respect for the rights of all
Cubans in our society."
"We won’t be able to implement
these transformations effectively if the population doesn’t participate,"
he warned. "We haven’t exhausted any existing discussions; perhaps someone
will propose something even better than what we’ve achieved so far, and where
there’s a misunderstanding, we need to explain why and listen."
The country needs much more debate,
he asserted, but to debate effectively, we must listen and build consensus,
because we are entering an extremely complex process in an extremely complex
situation.
"This is what truly
contributes, and this is what it means to rise to the occasion, to live in this
historical moment," he said, referring to the approved transformations.
He called for applying "all
the categories of Fidel’s concept of Revolution to the attitude we must adopt.
They are all present in what we must do to defend these transformations. And
when I speak of defense, I don’t just mean implementing them, but implementing
them well so that they yield results," he concluded.
THE IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP
In this working session, the
members of the highest governing body approved the proposal presented by Prime
Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz for the implementation of the economic and social
transformations that the country will undertake immediately for its recovery.
He explained that, following the
plenary sessions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the
National Assembly of People's Power, as well as meetings with members of the
National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba and other experts,
the initial document outlining the economic and social transformations was
updated based on 673 proposals received, 79% of which were accepted. He
specified that the majority of these proposals were aimed at enriching the
implementation process that is now beginning.
Marrero Cruz indicated that in the
coming days, actions will be implemented to grant new powers to state-owned
socialist enterprises; decentralize the power to approve wholesale and retail
prices to the business sector; and restructure the Higher Organizations of
Business Management. Empower provincial governments and administrative councils
to create, merge, extinguish, and liquidate local state-owned enterprises; make
the approval and allocation of after-tax profits more flexible; decentralize
the power to approve the salary scale to the state-owned enterprise system,
among other important steps.
Regarding the non-state sector, he
specified that among the priorities in implementing the transformations are:
the approval of pending non-agricultural micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives; the reduction of procedures, terms, and
requirements for the creation of new economic actors; allowing the hiring of
more than one hundred workers and permitting an individual to own more than one
private company; expanding the types of business structures under which they
can organize; and reducing the list of prohibited activities in this sector.
Concerning agricultural recovery,
he addressed as a priority the modification of land management and use for all
economic actors, as well as making marketing more flexible.
Marrero Cruz clarified that the
economic and social transformations, contained in 23 key areas that encompass a
wide range of urgent issues, are relevant to all organizations and require
updating work systems to dedicate the necessary time and analysis to them.
In this, she said, the role that
we, as leaders, must play is crucial; "the greatest transformation must be
in our way of thinking."
The document outlining the 176
approved economic and social reforms is available on the government platform
(www.sovereignty.gob.cu) and on the website of the Presidency of the Republic
(www.presidency.gob.cu).
During the discussion of this
matter, the Minister of Justice, Rosabel Gamón Verde, explained that the
approved reforms have an impact on the legal framework, requiring modifications
to some existing regulations and the drafting of new ones. She assured that the
process will be swift, but will require full-time work.
She clarified that efficiency and
speed cannot come at the expense of achievements made in the regulatory
process, including legality, democratization, popular participation whenever
possible, and the quality of our legal norms.
In this regard, the President of
the National Assembly of People's Power, Esteban Lazo Hernández, noted that the
usual time required for drafting legal norms will be significantly reduced. A
series of steps currently involved will be eliminated, while always maintaining
respect for the Constitution, necessary consultations, and public
participation. However, the process will be more expeditious, he reiterated.
TOPICS ON THE AGENDA
At this meeting of the Council of
Ministers, an analysis of the performance of the Cuban economy in the first
half of the year was presented. The economy has been profoundly impacted by the
U.S. government's blockade policy and the continued oil embargo, which affects
all sectors of the nation's life.
The reports on the execution of the
State Budget as of the end of May and the estimate for the first half of the
year were also reviewed, and the report on the settlement of the 2025 Budget
was approved. This latter report will be presented at the next session of the
National Assembly of People's Power.
Likewise, the proposal for the
early placement of graduates from higher education and mid-level technical
programs, who will complete their studies in 2027, was approved.
In addition, a report was presented
detailing the results of the detection, prevention, and care provided to minors
under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior for committing acts
classified as crimes and exhibiting harmful behaviors. This work is being
intensified nationwide through collaboration between operational bodies and
agencies of the Central State Administration, as well as social, mass, and
political organizations.