3701. State Council of Cuba Approves New Decree-Laws as Part of Implementing Economic and Social Transformations

 By Cuban Parliament, Granma, July 16, 2026

Cuban Parliament, photo: Granma

The decree-laws "On the Cuban State Business System" and "Amendment to Decree-Law No. 76 on Agricultural Cooperatives" were approved in the extraordinary session of the State Council held as part of the process of implementing economic and social transformations.

The decree-laws "On the Cuban State Business System" and "Amendment to Decree-Law No. 76 on Agricultural Cooperatives" were approved in the extraordinary session of the State Council held as part of the process of implementing economic and social transformations, which was chaired by the President of this body, Esteban Lazo Hernández.

During the meeting, it was reported that, based on the implementation of the economic and social transformations analyzed by the Political Bureau, the Extraordinary Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party, the National Assembly of People's Power, and the Council of Ministers, it is necessary to update the regulatory framework governing the Cuban state-owned enterprise system.

The first of the approved decree-laws seeks to regulate the general principles of organization and operation of the state-owned enterprise system for its transformation and development under the leadership of the National Institute of State-Owned Enterprise Assets.

"It addresses 16 of the 17 transformations corresponding to Thematic Area 1: Transformations in the management model of economic actors, related to the Socialist State Enterprise; as well as facilitating the implementation of 12 transformations from other areas," stated Roberto Ricardo Marrero, president of the National Institute of State-Owned Enterprise Assets.

Meanwhile, Yovana Vega Mato, an executive at the Ministry of Economy and Planning, added that this legislation constitutes the platform that enables the state-owned enterprise system, under the leadership of the National Institute of State Business Assets, to exercise all its powers and carry out all the mandated transformations, which are articulated with a set of legal norms currently being drafted.

In the debate, Esteban Lazo highlighted the relevance of the decree-law "On the Cuban State-Owned Enterprise System," which reaffirms the socialist state-owned enterprise as the main actor in the national economy, as well as contributing to expanding the powers that comprise the autonomy of the state-owned enterprise, unleashing its productive forces, and defining corporate social responsibility.

For its part, the decree-law "Amending Decree-Law No. 76 on Agricultural Cooperatives" regulates the constitution, organization, integration, and operation of these cooperatives, based on the necessary update of this regulatory provision in accordance with economic and social transformations.

Both decree-laws will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic for public awareness.

The extraordinary session of the Council of State also delved into how this body will contribute, through its constitutional powers, particularly in legislative and oversight matters, to the implementation of economic and social transformations. These transformations aim to further refine our socialist construction process and contribute to the nation's economic growth and social development.

3692. Cuba Pushes Through Sweeping Free-Market Reforms in Biggest Economic Shift Since the Revolution

By Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press, June 19, 2026

A man sits on a sidewalk in Havana as the island suffered power outages in October. 

Norlys Perez/Reuters.

HAVANA (AP) — Observers on Friday called Cuba’s new free-market reforms the most sweeping economic overhaul of the island’s communist economy since the Cuban revolution, as the grandson of former President Raúl Castro said in an interview that Cuba must seek to move its economy forward.

The 176 measures aim to further decentralize Cuba’s state-run economy, which has been left gasping by a tightened embargo under President Donald Trump. Under the island’s current economic model, the government largely determines what is produced, who produces it, the prices at which goods are sold and how the country’s resources are allocated.

The plan includes more space for private businesses, imports and exports without state intermediation, free hiring of personnel, authorization for private banks, and investment by Cubans abroad. It even permits fast-food chains to establish themselves on the island.

“Elements that for decades were listed as pillars of the revolutionary economy, such as the state monopoly on foreign trade and the centralization of productive forces, have been dismantled,” said Luis Carlos Battista, a Cuban-American political scientist and lawyer who is a doctoral candidate at the University of Salamanca.

Cuban leaders like former President Raúl Castro – who still wields significant power on the island – have sought to push forward more limited reforms of Cuba’s economy in the past, but efforts have run into bureaucratic hurdles. In passing the reform, Cuban authorities cautioned that implementation could be slow, and noted measures will not be viable if the U.S. does not lift the energy and financial embargo on the island.

Since January, Cuba has been under a harsh energy and financial embargo imposed by the U.S., effectively blocking Cuba off from fuel, it’s main energy source, and deepening the crisis had already been deteriorating for the past five years. Blackouts have lasted up to 20 hours a day and have restricted access to health services, transportation and education.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that they are maintaining a policy of maximum pressure to change the island’s political and economic system, which has endured for six decades despite U.S. pressure. They have not ruled out the use of military force.