February 6th, local time, the Cuban government announced major economic reforms, which will allow private enterprises to operate in most industries to cope with the economic difficulties caused by the pandemic.
Affected by the pandemic, Cuba is facing unprecedented economic difficulties.
In order to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, on February 6 local time, the government decided to open the business scope of private enterprises, increasing the number of authorized industries from 127 to more than 2,000, only 124 industries will continue to be under the control of the state, and the rest The ministry is open.
“This is a long-awaited reform that opens another door to “seeking self-protection” in the severe economic crisis,” said Martha Elena Feitó, the Cuban Minister of Labor and Social Security.
The decision was announced last July as part of a response to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but according to an article published by the Cuban newspaper Grama on Saturday, it was not approved by the Council of Ministers until Saturday.
Feto also said, “The continued development of private enterprises is the goal of this reform”, she recalled that private enterprises employ nearly 600,000 workers, accounting for 13% of the employed population.
But there is no specificity on the 124 industries that private enterprises cannot engage in.
Fetto also admits that the most affected by the pandemic and the sanctions of the United States are tourism and services.
Cuba’s Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil believes that “expanding the scope of private enterprises is a very important link that will help liberate the productivity of the private sector.”
He also called on the authorities to “take responsibility, pay attention to, monitor and evaluate the performance of this sector, and to inspect and deal with illegal acts that occur”.
In January 1959, Cuba overthrew American rule and won a complete victory in the revolution.
Since the victory of the revolution, Cuba has declared all industries nationalized and maintained a monopoly on the national economy, but over the past decade, Cuba has been slowly changing, expanding and beginning to allow private enterprises to operate and develop.
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