Cuba Good News? “[A]chieving this depends a lot on the performance of the business system” Said President Diaz-Canel. Can He Deliver? Does He Want To Deliver? Will Washington Accept The Effort?

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“achieving this depends a lot on the performance of the business system” Miguel Diaz-Canel, President of the Republic of Cuba (2019- ) 

From 10 May 2022
Good News: President Miguel Diaz-Canel Publicly Recognizing The Problem
Bad News: His Track Record For Solving The Problem Has Been Dismal

Granma
Havana, Republic of Cuba
2 March 2026

emphasis added 

“"We must focus immediately on implementing the most urgent and necessary transformations to the economic and social model," stated Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, during his address to the Council of Ministers.

The president added that these transformations "are fundamentally related to business autonomy; municipal autonomy; the resizing of the state apparatus, the government, and institutions; national food production, with municipal balance sheets; the shift in the energy matrix, which includes not only renewable sources but also everything related to domestic crude oil; exports, linking them to the flexibilities approved for foreign direct investment; leveraging economic partnerships between the state and private sectors, especially at the municipal level; and promoting business with Cubans residing abroad." 

All of this, the Head of State added, must contribute to the macroeconomic stabilization of the country, to increasing foreign exchange earnings, and to developing national production, with an emphasis on food. 

At the meeting of the highest governing body on the Island, which is led by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz every month from the Palace of the Revolution and via videoconference with all the provinces, the president stressed that "achieving this depends a lot on the performance of the business system, and also on the behavior of the municipalities." 

Businesses, he said, must be prepared to use all the powers that have been granted. Many measures regarding business autonomy have been approved, but they are not yet being utilized; some are even unknown, he noted. 

Díaz-Canel added that "municipalities must prepare themselves, as these processes we are opening will increasingly be implemented there." 

"Municipalities must manage foreign direct investment; municipalities must manage their own closed-loop systems in foreign currency; municipalities must manage economic partnerships between the state and non-state sectors; municipalities must design and propose their local production systems; and they must manage investments from Cubans residing abroad," he explained. 

We must prepare ourselves, he said, so that together we can contribute to national production, together we can boost food production, together we can contribute to macroeconomic stabilization, together we can contribute more foreign exchange earnings to the country, more exports, better use of productive capacities, the realization of the change in the energy matrix, and an adequate relationship between the state and non-state sectors. 

The Cuban President called on the members of the Council of Ministers to work intensively, intelligently, with oversight, deeper analysis, high standards, and discipline, leveraging potential and questioning anything that isn't progressing.” 

Link (3/3/26)- CONSEJO DE ESTADO: Decreto-Ley 114/2025 “De la asociación entre entidades empresariales estatales y no estatales” (GOC-2026-215-O24).  MINISTERIO: Ministerio de Economia y Planificación Resolución 8/2026 “Procedimiento para la evaluación y aprobación de la asociación entre entidades empresariales estatales y no estatales” (GOC-2026-216-O24)

Background 

On 10 May 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration (2021-2025) authorized the first direct investment and the first direct financing into a privately-owned company located in the Republic of Cuba owned by a Republic of Cuba national.  The expectation was the government of the Republic of Cuba would quickly embrace the opportunity for engagement.   

Nearing four years later, the government of the Republic of Cuba has not issued the necessary guidance and regulations.   

What is required? One page to be filed by the Republic of Cuba-based company with its Republic of Cuba government-operated financial institution; similar to a Know Your Customer (KYC) form, authorizing officially the direct investment and direct financing.    

  • “A KYC form is a mandatory document used by financial institutions, banks, and businesses to verify a client's identity, address, and legitimacy.  It requires personal details (name, DOB), contact information, and government-issued documents (passport, driver's license, etc.) to prevent fraud, money laundering, and illegal activities.” 

The lack of guidance and regulations from the government of the Republic of Cuba has also impacted sources of capital from every other country- including those with whom the government of the Republic of Cuba embraces- China and Russia, along with the twenty-seven-member country Brussels, Belgium-based European Union (EU) among others.  

The Diaz-Canel-Valdes Mesa Administration (2019- ) in the Republic of Cuba is not for some in the Trump-Vance Administration (2025-2029) the problem.  The problem is the manner the government of the Republic of Cuba uses its chosen political system to manage its economy.  

Policies, regulations, and statutes implemented by the government of the United States do impact negatively the commercial, economic, and financial functionality of the government of the Republic of Cuba.    

Ironically, some of the policies, regulations, and statutes if accepted by the government of the Republic of Cuba could strengthen the government of the Republic of Cuba by providing additional capital, additional markets, and additional bilateral political connectivity.  

Within those policies, regulations, and statutes are opportunities the government of the Republic of Cuba has avoided which have contributed to the corrosion and decay of the commercial, economic, and financial infrastructure in the Republic of Cuba.  

The Trump-Vance Administration will permit the Diaz-Canel-Valdes Mesa Administration to implement changes to commercial, economic, and financial infrastructure while maintaining most political infrastructure.    

However, the infrastructure needs to transition quickly from what did not work in the second half of the twentieth century to what can work in the beginning of the second quarter of the twenty-first century.   

To date, successive governments in the Republic of Cuba embrace private sector-related formulas guaranteeing failure.   

The government of the Republic of Cuba must, and quickly, adopt and adapt to formulas targeting the re-emerging private sector in the Republic of Cuba which transition systemically from a focus on surviving to a focus on thriving.  

Links To Related Analyses  

LINK TO COMPLETE ANALYSIS IN PDF FORMAT