HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s powerful Communist Party, or PCC, called an extraordinary plenary session Wednesday, days after President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s announced an economic reform package aimed at opening up the struggling island’s economy.Also Wednesday, in a surprise move, the National Assembly was also convened for Thursday to follow up on the party meeting.Both sessions come at a critical time for Cuba, as it grapples with the effects of a U.S. energy blockade aimed at forcing a change in the island’s economic model.The deepening economic crisis that has gripped Cuba for the past years — intensified by the energy embargo enacted under U.S. President Donald Trump — continues to disproportionately affect the island’s most vulnerable. Persistent blackouts, cuts to the state-run food ration system, and severe shortages of water and medicine have transformed daily life into an ordeal for many of the island’s nearly 10 million residents.
Last week, Díaz-Canel told journalists that the upcoming reforms would expand authorizations for private companies, which were first legalized five years ago. Without providing specific details or deadlines, the president noted that the plan will also allow Cubans living both on the island and abroad to invest in tourism, while granting state-run companies greater freedom to partner with the private sector.
