Cuban President Calls for “Urgent” Economic Reforms

Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel

Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Monday called for “urgent transformations” to the country’s economy.

His remarks were made during a meeting of the Council of Ministers, the Cuban government’s top decision-making body. Díaz-Canel said the changes would be related to business and municipal autonomy and “resizing the state apparatus.”

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy called on municipalities to develop their own sustainable local development plans using resources provided by the national government.

“The government has been trying to push this for a long time but it’s been a slow process,” said Emily Morris, a development economist with the Institute of the Americas at University College London. “Decentralization is very difficult because people at the municipal level often don’t have the capacity, skills and knowledge.”