World

Cuba proposes sweeping reforms to socialist model amid US pressure

By Reuters Reuters
Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 14, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 14, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. SPUTNIK Reuters

HAVANA - Cuba`s prime minister on Thursday presented lawmakers with sweeping measures backed by the Communist Party and former leader Raul Castro that would privatize a vast swath of its socialist economy in a bid to survive punishing U.S. sanctions.

The measures - which still await a vote of approval by the National Assembly - would open the door to private real estate development on the Caribbean island, transform state-owned businesses into private commercial ventures with shares and equity stakes and allow private banks to enter Cuba`s once state-dominated finance sector.

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood, Editing by Franklin Paul)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 1:58 PM.

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