Cuba's National Assembly Approves Sweeping Economic Reform Package

On 18 June 2026 the III Extraordinary Session of Cuba’s National Assembly convened at Havana’s Convention Palace, featuring a video‑link appearance by former army chief Raúl Castro and President Miguel Díaz‑Canel. The session aimed to address what officials described as the gravest multidimensional crisis since the Special Period, attributing severe economic contraction to the tightened U.S. embargo that intensified in 2019.

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero presented a dossier of 176 proposals targeting deep transformations of the country’s economic and social model. Key measures include granting real autonomy to provincial governments and enterprise boards, establishing a national inventory of tangible and intangible assets for market‑based valuation, allowing state‑owned firms to monetize underused assets, and creating procedures for bankruptcy and liquidation. The reforms also seek to accelerate the approval of new small‑ and medium‑size enterprises and to streamline administrative procedures. In his speech, President Díaz‑Canel stressed, “Es tiempo de cambiar todo lo que tiene que ser cambiado,” emphasizing the urgency of comprehensive change.

The proposals are slated for debate and approval by the Assembly, signalling a strategic shift intended to revitalize Cuba’s economy while preserving core revolutionary achievements.