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Cuba’s Communist Party and Parliament Approve Sweeping Market Reforms

The package is presented as an emergency response to U.S. sanctions and fuel shortages, but the full law texts and implementation timetable have not been published.

People push a broken-down, classic American car past a pile of trash in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Banos)
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People stand on a balcony before the Cuban government presents far-reaching economic measures that could mark the most significant shift toward a market economy since the 1959 revolution, in Havana, Cuba June 17, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez/File Photo
Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, second left, and Raul Castro's grandson Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, center back, take part in a rally in support of former President Raul Castro in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Friday, May 22, 2026, after U.S. prosecutors filed an indictment accusing him of ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Overview

  • Cuban authorities fast-tracked an emergency economic program that the Communist Party approved and the National Assembly adopted in a vote on Thursday, June 18, endorsing roughly 176 to nearly 200 measures.
  • The reforms open large parts of the economy to private and foreign investment, widen private-sector activity, allow equity stakes in state firms, permit private banks and loosen trade and foreign-exchange rules.
  • Former leader Raúl Castro publicly backed the plan and top officials framed the changes as necessary to preserve socialism while decentralizing decision making to municipalities and state firms.
  • The government has not released the full legal texts, a timetable or enforcement rules, leaving major uncertainty about how and when the changes will take effect and how the United States will react.
  • Cubans face prolonged blackouts, fuel and medicine shortages now, business owners say the measures offer cautious hope, and analysts warn investor fear of U.S. secondary sanctions could limit incoming capital and slow recovery.