Cuba will carry out market reforms

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On June 19, the Cuban government announced that it would implement a series of administrative and economic reforms. Experts have already called Cuba's new market reforms the largest economic overhaul of the island's communist economy since the Cuban Revolution.

A total of 23 key areas of reform were approved. In addition, 176 different measures are aimed at further decentralizing Cuba's state-owned economy, which has been in critical condition due to the tightening of the US embargo under President Donald Trump.

What reforms will be carried out?

The plan includes more space for private businesses, imports and exports without government intermediation, free hiring of personnel, permission for private banks and Cuban investment from abroad. The reforms will also allow fast food chains to open on the island.

Economic reforms are also opening the door to private real estate development in Cuba. Thus, the authorities propose to transform state-owned enterprises into private commercial enterprises.

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said the measures recognize the market as “a tool for the efficient allocation of resources,” but noted that Cuba is not abandoning socialist ideas.

“Renewing the economic and social model has the primary goal of improving the quality of life of our compatriots,” Marrero said.

Expert commentary

A specialist on South American countries, in a conversation with DOXA, notes that her desire to carry out market reforms in Cuba is due to the fact that the economy on the island is experiencing a severe crisis due to population outflow and pressure from the United States.

The expert notes that the gradual transition to market reforms in Cuba began back in 2011. Then began the first economic liberalization and market expansion, which led to temporary but not stable growth of the Cuban economy.

“If we talk about which of the measures, in my opinion, is fundamentally important, then this is a reduction in the role of the state in principle, further decentralization in the economy and, of course, the transformation of state socialist enterprises into joint-stock companies. One of the measures is that state-owned enterprises are transformed into joint-stock companies and their shares and means of production,” she says.

In fact, according to DOXA’s interlocutor, the measures of the Cuban authorities mean a rejection of the socialist project of the 20th century, which weakens the role of the state in the economy, but does not nominally cancel the socialist project at the political level.

The expert also notes that abandoning the rationing system An administrative method of distributing limited resources or goods, in which the state or leadership sets strict limits on their consumption per capita (through coupons, cards) or between enterprises, will be very painful for Cuba. Now it will be more difficult for people to receive systemic assistance from the government:

“In the discourse of the current Cuban leadership, this is formulated as a transition from subsidizing goods to subsidizing specific individuals. But in reality, for many people this is really a blow, since targeted assistance will become more difficult to obtain and will create a certain pool of criteria that will need to be met.”

Commenting on the future of reforms, the specialist notes that the effect of the arrival of foreign capital in Cuba and the decentralization of the economy is unlikely to be positive for ordinary Cubans, who will essentially become “an object of exploitation by a foreign capitalist” and the future of the island will be quite vague.

What has been happening in Cuba since the beginning of the year?

After the US operation in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, Cuba lost a key source of oil: on March 16, a blackout occurred, affecting about ten million residents, the energy system was restored in 29 hours. However, electricity problems persist on the island.

The Donald Trump administration has sharply increased pressure on Havana. After establishing control over the oil sector of Venezuela, a key supplier of fuel to Cuba, the United States effectively cut off the supply of Venezuelan oil to the island. On January 29, Trump signed a decree allowing the introduction of increased duties against any countries supplying energy to Cuba.

In February 2026, a shootout occurred off the coast of Cuba that killed four people and injured six more. The victims were on a boat registered in Florida.

Cuba's Interior Ministry said the group consisted of anti-government Cubans, some of whom had previously been wanted for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks. Axios US government sources say one of the dead is a US citizen. At the same time, NPR sources clarify that there were at least two US citizens on the boat.

The rest of the boat's passengers either had U.S. visas or were in the country with valid residency permits.

The initial statement from the Cuban Interior Ministry stated that the vessel had Florida registration number FL7726SH. The ministry said the Cuban government "defends its sovereignty and ensures stability in the region."

In subsequent statements, Cuban authorities noted that they had received additional information about the passengers from the detained suspects. The statement alleged that the group arrived from the United States armed with assault rifles, pistols, improvised explosive devices, body armor and telescopic sights.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was investigating the incident itself and had formally asked Cuba for access to the six victims, a U.S. official told Axios.

Pressure on Cuban authorities

Cuba has been under a US embargo since the 1960s. In 2017, the first administration of Donald Trump curtailed the normalization of relations begun under Barack Obama, citing, among other things, the so-called “Havana syndrome.”

The economic crisis on the island has been growing in recent years: in 2021 it led to the largest protests in the 21st century. In the fall of 2024, the situation was aggravated by Hurricane Oscar, crop failure and a reduction in fuel supplies from Venezuela.

Since 2025, regular power outages have become the norm. The authorities declared a state of emergency and suspended the work of “all non-essential structures.” According to the Cuban Human Rights Observatory, residents face shortages not only of electricity, but also of food, water and medicine.

As a result of US pressure, Cuba has already made concessions: the authorities have announced their readiness to allow foreign investment and allow emigrants to own businesses on the island - this was previously prohibited.

At the same time, the international community has consistently opposed the embargo for decades: almost every year the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passes resolutions demanding its lifting. For example, on October 29, 2026, 187 countries voted to lift the embargo; only the United States and Israel voted against it. However, these decisions are advisory in nature and do not lead to a change in Washington policy.