Cuba lifts land limits and expands private sector under 176‑point economic reform

Cuba has begun implementing a sweeping set of 176 economic reforms approved in June 2024. Key measures include eliminating the 67.10‑hectare cap and the time limit on land use, allowing land to be allocated based on productive projects and to be inherited by emigrants and their descendants. Applications for land must be accompanied by a production plan, and the process is intended to be completed within 25 days. The reforms also open land ownership to Cuban expatriates, permanent residents, and foreign investors, and permit the creation of agritourism and ecotourism ventures.

In the private sector, the ceiling of 100 employees for a single firm is being removed, and entrepreneurs may now hold stakes in multiple businesses. Cooperatives are authorized to import and export directly, and state‑owned firms will increasingly use market mechanisms for financing and trade. The government says these steps are aimed at reviving food production and reducing dependence on imports amid a prolonged economic crisis exacerbated by U.S. sanctions. As Agriculture Minister Ydael Pérez Brito remarked, “Actores económicos, no importa de qué sectores. Quien quiera ir para la tierra a trabajar, puede hacerlo.”