Latin American Economy & Business - June 2016 (ISSN 1741-7430)

At first sight the Cuban Communist Party’s publication of a new policy towards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was taken as increased recognition of the role of the private sector, and as a sign of further liberalisation of the Cuban economy. But the timing and the detail of future changes are not clear and analysts warn that government is still unwilling to relax its tight controls over economic activity.