Enlarge image
Market stall in Havana (archive image)
Photo: © Desmond Boylan / Reuters / REUTERS
The Cuban government has passed a law that allows the creation of small and medium-sized businesses.
The unprecedented move was decided at a meeting of the State Council, attended by President Miguel Díaz-Canel via video conference.
"The State Council approves the decree on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which allows them to be incorporated into the economy in order to be part of the productive transformation of the country," said a statement on the National Assembly website.
So far, state-owned companies have been the norm in communist-ruled Cuba.
The change comes around a month after thousands of Cubans took to the streets to protest the government.
Some of the unusual demonstrations were violently suppressed.
Over the past few months, the government has accelerated reforms to modernize the economy and contain the worst economic crisis the Caribbean country has experienced in 30 years. In February, the government decided to open much of the state-controlled economy to the private sector - with the exception of key areas such as health, media and education. Around 2000 areas were made accessible to the self-employed.
An estimated 600,000 Cubans work in the private sector, around 13 percent of the workforce.
However, they demanded a legal structure that their companies specifically allow.
"This is a big step for the Cuban economy that will have an impact on the restructuring of the national economy in the medium and long term," said Oniel Díaz, a consultant specializing in the development of the Cuban economy.
The law represents a turning point that many Cubans have longed for for years.
dab / AFP