CUBA - Unprecedented Free-Market Reforms

In a landmark speech to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero unveiled 176 measures aimed at rolling back the state’s role in the economy and attracting investment in everything from banking to tourism and agriculture.

Under the reforms, foreign investors are no longer required to form joint ventures with the state, large private enterprises will be authorized, and both Cuban and foreign investors will be allowed to acquire stakes in state companies.

Daniel Torralbas, a London-based Cuban economist, described the reforms as “the most profound” since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro.

While Havana’s custom has always been to blame its woes on a more-than-six-decade U.S. trade embargo, and more recently the oil blockade, President Miguel Diaz-Canel admitted to the existence of “obstacles that don't come from outside, nor the blockade.”

-www.cbsnews.com, 18 June 2026

Commentary: Cuba, with about 10 million inhabitants, is listed by Wikipedia as the 60th largest economy in the world. Per capita GDP is $22,957; life expectancy is 78.6 years according to Worldometers.info, which is below the USA (79.3 years).

Cuba should have learned long ago from China; when communism dominates politics and economy, it will not last long. Communist China has fully implemented communism, socialism, and capitalism. Today, it has reached number one when it comes to manufacturing and exporting.

Our interest lies in the Church. Searching under “church growth in Cuba,” we read: “Evangelical churches are experiencing a massive, ongoing revival in Cuba. Driven by the country’s economic hardships and a search for community support, denominations like the Baptists and charismatic groups are reporting record baptisms and explosive congregation sizes, primarily operating through a vast network of unregistered house churches.” We highlight the words “vast network of unregistered house churches.”

That’s a good sign and a reason for praising the Lord, who clearly stated: “I will build my church.”

(See The Sure Foundation of the Church, Item #1066, $18.50.)