Cuban Government Sees Private Entrepreneurs as a "Necessary Evil"

The Cuban government has once again laid bare its mixed feelings towards private entrepreneurs, labeling them a "necessary evil" amid the ongoing economic turmoil on the island. According to Ricardo Torres Pérez, a researcher and author of the report "Private Sector in Cuba: Escape Valve or Development Engine?", despite the allowance for self-employment and the establishment of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) offering some economic relief, authorities remain distrustful and uncommitted to this burgeoning sector.

Cuba Study Group's data underscores the official narrative that these management forms are not the ideal model, but rather a compulsory measure to keep the economy afloat. "There's no commitment because the prevailing ideology within the government views the private sector as a threat," Torres Pérez explained.

Since the legal authorization of MSMEs in 2021, over 11,000 private businesses have been registered in Cuba, with many focusing on importing food, essential supplies, and consumer goods that the state fails to provide. However, their success has stirred unease among government factions, which see these enterprises as a potential source of inequality and political control loss.

The official discourse is riddled with contradictions: while relying on entrepreneurs to stock empty shelves, it accuses them of speculation, imposes bureaucratic hurdles, and restricts their imports. The message is clear: they are allowed to exist only as long as it suits those in power, never as a free and competitive sector that could challenge the state monopoly.

"There's always a new regulation that can be enacted to inconvenience private businesses in one way or another," Torres pointed out.

For ordinary Cubans, MSMEs are currently the sole means to access food, medicine, or basic products, despite high prices due to scarcity and regime-imposed restrictions. Without these enterprises, the country would be even more entrenched in economic stagnation, but the government prefers to attack them rather than acknowledge their crucial role.

The label of "necessary evil" not only exposes the regime's disdain for private initiative but also its fear of losing absolute control over the nation's economic life. Cuba needs more freedom and fewer slogans: entrepreneurs capable of generating wealth should not be demonized by a system that has shown, for over six decades, its complete inability to lift the people out of poverty.