The measures recently announced by President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero undoubtedly represent a recognition of economic realities that many economists, entrepreneurs, academics, and observers of the Cuban reality have been pointing out for years, both inside and outside the Island.
It would be unfair not to recognize it.
The opening to greater participation of the private sector, the recognition of the role that the diaspora can play, the need to attract investment, the flexibilization of certain economic mechanisms, and the search for new sources of growth respond to debates that for a long time seemed unthinkable within the official discourse.
The most relevant aspect of these announcements is not only what they propose. It is that they reflect an implicit recognition of economic realities about which many Cubans have been writing and reflecting for years, and with special intensity, during the last few months. That alone already represents a significant change.
Those who have followed my articles over the last few months will recognize several of these approaches. I have maintained that the participation of the diaspora, the expansion of space for private initiative, the need to attract capital, the creation of confidence, and the modernization of economic rules were not ideological options but practical necessities for the country’s development.
For that reason, I consider it positive that some of these ideas are beginning to be translated into concrete policies.
For months I have maintained that the diaspora should not be viewed solely as a source of remittances but as a source of investment, knowledge, experience, and national reconstruction. It is encouraging that this vision is beginning to find space within the country’s economic debate.
But I also believe that we must be honest about what is still missing.
Just a few years ago, many of these proposals were discarded or considered incompatible with the existing economic model, and today they are already part of the national discussion. That is progress.
But the challenge is no longer to identify problems or produce more diagnoses, but rather to implement solutions with the speed, depth, and credibility that the country’s situation demands.
The word is TRUST.
Investment does not arrive because opportunities are announced. Investment arrives when GUARANTEES exist.
Capital does not respond to speeches but to clear rules, stability, and legal certainty.
For that reason, some fundamental questions remain relevant:
What guarantees will Cuban investors inside and outside the country have?
What legal protection will their assets have?
Will there be full capacity to repatriate profits and capital?
Will the purchase, development, ownership, financing, inheritance, and transfer of property be permitted under a transparent regime protected by law?
Will Cubans residing abroad be able to invest with the peace of mind that the rules will remain stable over time?
Will there be political veto mechanisms to filter who may or may not participate in the new investment processes?
These are not mere technical details but the heart of any process of economic transformation.
Economic confidence has a concrete expression in the right to and respect for property. As long as there is no clear framework that allows people to buy, develop, inherit, finance, and sell property with full legal certainty, a significant portion of Cuban capital, both inside and outside the country, will continue to observe with caution.
Investment seeks opportunities, but it only develops and remains where guarantees exist.
The true test of an opening is not allowing investment. It is guaranteeing that those who invest can preserve, develop, protect, and freely dispose of the fruits of their efforts.
A profound modernization of the financial system must be effectively implemented.
Cuba needs functional banks, access to credit, modern financing instruments, efficient payment mechanisms, and an exchange-rate environment that generates predictability.
As I have said on several occasions and continue to maintain, the diaspora is one of the greatest strategic assets available to the Cuban nation.
The announced measures open a door. That is important. With respect to the diaspora, it is now necessary to take the most difficult step: turning openness into confidence and confidence into investment. It is necessary to create the conditions for capital to remain, grow, and generate prosperity.
And it is necessary to do so by fully incorporating all talents, including the millions of Cubans who for years have continued to commit, propose, and believe that a more prosperous Cuba is possible.
The announced measures deserve recognition. But history will not remember the announcements but the results.
Cuba needs to move from authorization to guarantee, from expectation to confidence, and from intention to execution.
That is where the true scope of this new stage will be decided.
The Announced Measures and What Is Still Missing
Capital does not respond to speeches but to clear rules, stability, and legal certainty.
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