Cuba rolls out sweeping economic reforms while pledging to keep socialism intact

In response to a deepening humanitarian crisis and intensified U.S. pressure, Cuba introduced a 176-item economic reform plan, the broadest since the revolution’s inception. The package expands autonomy for state companies, permits foreign investors to operate without intermediaries, creates private banking, and removes universal subsidies while opening sectors such as energy to private capital. President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the shift as painful but necessary to “save the Revolution,” and leaders like Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz framed it as an update of the socialist model.

Economists note the reforms break with traditional socialist pillars, yet officials maintain that property remains in the hands of the Cuban people. Observers warn that without political change, legal uncertainty will persist, limiting foreign capital and leaving ordinary Cubans skeptical of the promised benefits.