Cuba pushes through sweeping free-market reforms in biggest economic shift since the revolution
The package expands private enterprise, banking and foreign investment as officials warn implementation will be slow and depend on easing U.S. sanctions.
- On Friday, Cuban lawmakers approved a package of 176 market-oriented reforms, marking the most sweeping economic overhaul since the Cuban revolution by opening the island's economy to private and foreign capital.
- These changes aim to decentralize a state-run economy left gasping by a tightened U.S. embargo, which has deepened a five-year crisis marked by blackouts lasting up to 20 hours daily.
- New measures authorize private banking, foreign investment, and free hiring of personnel, while permitting fast-food chains to establish on the island and dismantling the state monopoly on foreign trade.
- Cubans reacted with skepticism on the streets. "First, let's see whether these measures are actually implemented," said Havana resident Olian Valdes, noting the gap between salaries and prices remains unchanged.
- Success depends on rapid implementation and lifting U.S. sanctions, according to Paolo Spadoni, associate professor at Augusta University, who warned the government faces a short window to obtain results.
126 Articles
126 Articles
The Cuban Parliament has approved 176 economic measures to save the country's sclerotic economy. In a context of unprecedented crisis and social discontent, this emergency plan would significantly strengthen the private sector, and its implementation remains uncertain.
The reform came after months of pressure from the United States, but the time to apply it remains uncertain
Cuba Approves Its Biggest Economic Overhaul Since the Revolution
Cuba's parliament has approved 176 measures opening the economy to private banks, foreign trade and diaspora money, its boldest shift in decades. The post Cuba Approves Its Biggest Economic Overhaul Since the Revolution appeared first on The Rio Times.
Cuba approves its deepest market reforms in over a decade amid public skepticism
Cuba's National Assembly approved on Friday a package of 176 measures that introduces market dynamics into the island's economy, in the deepest shift since the reforms promoted by Raúl Castro in 2011. The government presented the plan as a response to the worst economic crisis in decades, though much of the population receives it with skepticism.
The US State Department criticizes the economic reforms presented by the Cuban government.
South Florida legislator skeptical of Cuba's economic reforms as Havana opens door to private investment
Speaking at the iconic Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana, Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar dismissed the reforms as a last-ditch effort by Cuba's communist leadership to attract international financial support amid growing economic pressures.
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