Cuba Approves Massive Economic Reform Package

On June 18‑19, 2026 Cuba’s National Assembly unanimously approved a sweeping package of 176 economic and social measures, the most extensive overhaul since the 1959 revolution. President Miguel Díaz‑Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero presented the reforms, which aim to boost production, attract foreign investment and modernise key sectors while retaining the socialist framework. Core changes include expanding private‑sector space, allowing foreign direct investment in state‑owned enterprises, liberalising land use and property rights, opening the banking system to private and foreign institutions, reducing subsidies on basic goods, and introducing digital technologies across agriculture, energy, health and tourism. The government says the plan will “unleash productive forces” and mitigate the severe economic strain caused by the United States’ blockade, energy shortages and chronic blackouts. Washington has dismissed the reforms as superficial “smoke signals,” demanding deeper political and economic changes, while Cuban officials stress the urgency of the measures to avert further crisis.