The Cuban regime establishes new policies that allow Cubans outside the country to invest in the island.
The lack of investment, combined with structural planning and financing problems, has limited the State's capacity to sustain basic services efficiently.
For his part, the Cuban dictator, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has held talks with Washington officials.
Although the government of Havana continues to express criticism of U.S. politics, the ruling party recognizes that there is a willingness to explore forms of cooperation.
From Washington, Trump recently stated that there have already been contacts with the Cuban government.
Although the current focus of U.S. foreign policy is on other international scenarios, the president said he is optimistic about the possibility of reaching an understanding.
“Cuba also wants to reach an agreement, and I think that very soon we will achieve it or do what is necessary,” said the president, reiterating that his administration maintains the option of applying new economic sanctions if there are no concrete changes.
After decades of a strongly centralized economic model that has failed to meet the needs of a large part of the population, internal and external pressures are beginning to emerge that aim to explore more open and efficient alternatives.
The Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade, Óscar Pérez-Oliva, said that the communist regime will begin to implement measures aimed at allowing greater openness to investment for the private sector, in a kind of “Perestroika” that the USSR applied prior to its definitive collapse.
The initiative seeks to promote investment both by Cuban citizens resident abroad and by American companies, in an attempt to alleviate the deep economic and energy crisis that has affected the island for several years.
These new policies come amid strong pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who seeks to promote changes within the regime and the island's failed economic system.
Within this framework, the minister confirmed that he is studying the possibility of allowing the usufruct of productive land and allowing Cubans who do not reside in the country to open bank accounts in foreign currencies.
These measures could facilitate the development of small private businesses within a system that has historically maintained strong state controls over economic activity.
The central objective of these reforms also aims to reactivate strategic sectors that have undergone significant deterioration in recent years.
These include transportation, electrical grids and other areas considered to be priorities to promote a possible economic recovery.
