00:00Cuba's economy is undergoing a fundamental transformation.
00:04State-owned enterprises are taking on a new role without subsidies.
00:08While the non-state sector is breaking through its growth limits,
00:12we take a closer look at Pillar 1 of the 176 measures,
00:17the end of an economic model that was long overdue for change.
00:20Evelyn Leyva brings us the details and shows us how these changes are being implemented on the ground.
00:28AXIS 1 of the 176 economic and social transformations represents the country's most radical reform in decades.
00:35State-owned socialist enterprises will no longer rely on subsidies.
00:38Instead, they will be expected to finance their own operations.
00:42And if they accumulate losses, they will have procedures in place to restructure.
00:46They will also be able to set their own prices, decide where to invest,
00:49and in an unprecedented move, negotiate wage scales directly with workers, based on production levels.
00:55The state is losing its grip to allow business to become profitable.
00:59That same axis also raises integration with the private sector,
01:02introducing significant changes that expand its scope.
01:06The limit that define micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises as businesses,
01:10with up to 100 employees, is being eliminated.
01:13Privates and misownership companies will be possible.
01:16This will make it possible, for example, for the private or non-state sector,
01:20to direct its activity and investment toward certain areas, particularly productive activities.
01:25There is always an important debate about where the limits should be set,
01:29for example, when it comes to selling state-owned assets,
01:33because these assets belong to the society as a whole, to the entire people.
01:38They must be treated differently.
01:40Some are also protected by the Constitution.
01:42Foreign investment is another critical issue.
01:45For this new economic ecosystem to work, the law removes barriers to trade.
01:49Resolution 340 of 2026 allows entrepreneurs to import supplies directly,
01:54without having to rely on large state-owned import companies.
01:57All they have to do is pay the customs duty.
01:59It is a measure that provides much-needed relief to businesses
02:02that were previously stifled by bureaucracy.
02:04Because of the quantity involved, the type of product we need,
02:07we can enter into a contract with an import company.
02:09Sometimes wholesalers don't carry these products either,
02:12so we have to resort to regular means and travel abroad and stuff together.
02:16In the past, this was a problem.
02:17You could bring back only 10 or 12 liters of sub-dimension ink.
02:20Now you can bring back 30, 40 liters.
02:22You pay the customs duty and you have the raw material you need.
02:25You no longer have to turn to a shipping container or an import company
02:29or a wholesaler to bring the supplies for small-scale production.
02:33The new regulations also require businesses to work together.
02:36The goal is no longer to survive in isolation,
02:38but to build integrated production chains.
02:40The law establishes a national platform for productive linkages
02:43where companies can pose their needs for raw materials and supplies.
02:47It also offers tax incentives to businesses that purchase goods from domestic producers.
02:51This is where the private sector is beginning to fill gaps
02:54that the state has been unable to address.
02:56One example is the production of sports uniforms.
02:59We have outfitted teams across the entire island,
03:02from Guantanamo to the other end of the country.
03:04We've made uniforms from them all.
03:06We had the tremendous opportunity to outfit the Cuban hockey team
03:09that competed at the Central American Games,
03:12both the women's and the men's teams.
03:13It seems our uniforms brought all three teams good luck
03:16because both teams became champions.
03:18Everything is made right here.
03:19The fabric rolls come in and the finished garments come out.
03:23The law is not just about generating foreign currency.
03:26It is also about social justice.
03:28The formalization of these micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises
03:31is creating local jobs and becoming a driving force
03:33for women's economic empowerment.
03:35As I stay at home mother,
03:37I didn't know what financial independence meant
03:39or what it was like to have money of my own.
03:42The working environment is good.
03:43We trust one another and we all care about each other.
03:46Working here has truly had a positive impact on my life.
03:50Cuba is a country where the state and private sectors
03:52compete and complement each other.
03:54A shifting mindset and a new economic paradigm
03:56are beginning to take shape
03:57as these reforms enter the early stages of implementation.
04:01Evelyn Leiby, Javier CampanerÃa, Telesur, La Habana, Cuba.
