“Like in China”: Cubans welcome reforms, exiles expect more

If many Cubans were unable to hear the announcement of the vast program of liberal reforms broadcast on national television, due to lack of electricity at home, actors in the private sector in Havana and members of the diaspora followed it attentively.

On Thursday, Cuba adopted a package of 176 reforms in favor of the market economy, marking a turning point for the communist island, plunged into a serious crisis and put under pressure by Washington.

On Friday, Carlos Dibus was still trying to digest these announcements while having breakfast in a restaurant in Old Havana.

“If they are implemented correctly, it could work wonderfully! It is not a transition to capitalism, it is rather a more open form of socialism, like in China,” he enthuses.

Several measures announced Thursday directly target Cubans abroad, invited to open businesses on the island, to buy shares in state companies or in the banking, agricultural and tourism sectors.

Having lived in Norway for 19 years, this logistics expert originally from Santa Clara (center) and passing through Cuba to visit his family has not ruled out returning to his country.

“With all these openings happening at the moment, maybe I'll start a business,” he confides, evoking nostalgia for his mother's cooking.

On the island, the reception is generally positive, despite fears of increased inequalities.

In the immediate future, many welcome any measure likely to appease Washington, whose oil blockade has worsened shortages of food, water and fuel, and is paralyzing the economy.

- “Opening up to the world” -

Amarilys Veloz, 62, owner of a tourist apartment and whose clientele has virtually fallen to zero since the imposition of the blockade at the end of January, welcomes the opportunity to "open up to the world".

She finds it positive that "people can invest with greater security in Cuba, acquire electric cars without having to pay taxes, and also invest in areas of tourist interest, such as Old Havana" where her apartment is located.

The "mypimeros", the local name given to the owners of "small and medium-sized businesses" (mypimes), authorized on the island for four years but who operated with many limitations, are cautiously optimistic.

Marta Deus, 38, founder of the home meal delivery app Mandao, welcomes the announcement of the lifting of limits on the number and size of businesses that a Cuban can own.

Her business has been "in survival mode for several months", she explains to AFP, while power cuts slow down home deliveries by disrupting mobile phone signals, and prevent delivery people from recharging their electric bikes. These announcements give him a hint of “hope”.

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