Ramón Labañino Salazar, a former spy known as one of the "Cuban Five" from the Wasp Network, recently gave a lecture in Spain, where he strongly asserted that the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Cuba are intended to bolster socialism. Invited by the Spanish organization Movement for Solidarity with Cuba (MESC), which consists of over 50 associations and groups supporting the communist regime in Havana, Labañino Salazar echoed the message frequently delivered by Cuban leaders who sanctioned the emergence of these "new economic actors."
Under the theme "Economic Situation in Cuba. Perspectives," the current Vice President of the National Association of Cuban Economists and Accountants presented the economic doctrine of the Cuban regime. According to the ousted Minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil Fernández, "there is only one socialist business system in Cuba."
The Role of MSMEs in Cuba's Socialist Agenda
Speaking to an audience of regime sympathizers in Málaga, Andalusia, on October 6, Labañino Salazar clarified the expectations the Havana regime holds for private entrepreneurs, who emerged in September 2021 following failed measures to "perfect the economic model." "Cuban MSMEs are qualitatively different from those elsewhere in the world because they are designed to respond to our socialism and conditions," Labañino Salazar stated during his talk at the Inturjoven Hostel in Torremolinos.
Labañino Salazar, whose daughter, Lizbeth Labañino, was attending the International University of Andalusia (UNIA) in Huelva as of April 2023, openly acknowledged that "all companies globally are created to make a profit," but claimed this is not the case in Cuba. "In Cuba, the concept we defend is that MSMEs are there to complement the state socialist enterprise, making it more efficient and creating productive linkages that allow us to advance," explained this "opinion leader" of the Cuban regime.
Voices Against MSMEs Within the Regime
Adding to the official narrative that the dictatorship aims to solidify from the so-called "Palace of the Revolution," Aleida Guevara March, the controversial daughter of Che Guevara, criticized MSMEs in May, calling for increased vigilance by the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution—neighbor organizations known for surveillance and "revolutionary vigilance"—as she viewed them as a potential national security threat.
In an interview with the Italian portal Ilfattoquotidiano, the regime's spokesperson argued that "MSMEs pose risks to security because they could facilitate the entry of drugs or other illicit goods into the country, necessitating intensified monitoring by the CDRs of what occurs in Cuba."
Two months later, Guevara March reiterated her stance, claiming that MSMEs were not fulfilling their initial mission of production and criticized Cuban entrepreneurs for seeking profits through the importation of goods. "These small private businesses enjoy privileges that the state does not; they are not as pressured by the embargo, allowing them to import a lot of things. Initially, all these businesses were created to produce, but many have turned into importers, importing at black market prices with which workers cannot compete," she argued.
The Regime's Tightening Grip on Private Enterprise
As a solution to this "unintended market consequence," which she described as a "serious economic problem," the privileged daughter of Che proposed that MSMEs stop importing. "After all, during the special period, we all had needs and shortages, but it was equal," she remarked.
The regime's concern over the rise of private entrepreneurs and their economic decisions was highlighted again in mid-September. Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel called for swift recruitment of private MSME workers into the ranks of Cuba's only recognized political party, the Communist Party. "We must also be able to create grassroots structures within them for both the Party and the UJC, ensuring appropriate growth and greater political engagement from these workers," stated Díaz-Canel, who also serves as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).
The government's strategy of maintaining centralized control over key economic sectors was further evidenced at the end of August with the issuance of Decree 107. This decree imposed new restrictions on private micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, as well as non-agricultural cooperatives and self-employed workers, identifying 125 activities that these "new economic actors" are not permitted to engage in.
"We always reaffirm that there is only one business system in the country, aimed at producing goods and services to meet the population's demands and support economic and social growth," stated Gil Fernández in July 2023. According to the former minister, who has been missing since his arrest in early February of that year, the state enterprise in Cuba must "generate the most dynamic economic growth."
"It's a single business system with various management forms and ownership types but with one goal: a single socialist system," Gil Fernández asserted six months before his dismissal, approved by his doctoral thesis advisor, Díaz-Canel, who emphasized that "there will be no tolerance for unethical behavior" after ordering an investigation into his advisee for corruption.