Havana, January 3rd.– Cuba will carry out a process of extraordinary administrative, economic, and social scope during the first quarter of 2026, consisting of the gradual decentralization of competencies and transfer of resources to the municipalities and, exceptionally, to the province, by the bodies of the Central State Administration and other national state organs and institutions.
Details of its objectives, principles, and rules are contained in Decree 140/2025 of the Council of Ministers, which will come into effect 90 days after its publication in the Extraordinary Official Gazette number 99 on December 29 of last year.
The process is governed by the provisions set forth in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, the laws, and other normative provisions, and consists of the transfer of functions, powers, activities, responsibilities, structures, and resources from the system of entities served by the organs and bodies to the municipality and, exceptionally, to the province.
According to one of its articles, the essential objective of the measure is to implement municipal autonomy through the distribution of competencies among the different levels of government, contributing to the integral, harmonious, and sustainable development of the country.
This must necessarily be accompanied by the structures, workers, and financial and material resources directly linked to the activities and services transferred, ensuring their continuity and efficiency.
The principles of the process include gradualness, since it is carried out in stages progressively, following criteria that allow for an adequate and clear assignment of competencies and transfer of resources to the territories; and flexibility and heterogeneity, allowing for adaptations and adjustments according to the characteristics of each territory, aiming for efficient, inclusive public management aligned with the needs of the local population.
Subsidiarity is also taken into account, based on the idea that decisions made at the local level, closer to the citizen, are those that cannot be made at the central level, recognizing the capacity and right of local administrative organs of People's Power to fulfill their responsibilities.
Other principles included in the decree are equity and comprehensive human development, since decentralization must consider its impact on the general well-being and quality of life of people, based on economic growth and citizen participation in government management.
The process is definitive and binding, as once concluded it becomes irrevocable, cannot be subject to subsequent changes, and constitutes an effective obligation for the competent organs and bodies, states the provision.
According to the regulations, the following sectors or activities are excluded from the decentralization process:
a) Defense and national security;
b) foreign relations;
c) monetary, exchange, financial, tax, and banking policies;
d) public infrastructure of national scope and interest;
e) territorial planning and urban development;
f) aviation and merchant navy;
g) telecommunications and radio spectrum;
h) water;
i) non-renewable natural resources;
j) hydrocarbon refining;
k) biodiversity;
l) genetic heritage; and
m) others as determined by the Council of Ministers.
A national temporary commission, of a governmental nature and chaired by a Deputy Prime Minister, will be responsible for directing, promoting, and controlling the development of the decentralization process, as specified in the decree itself.
Taken from the Cuban News Agency (ACN)
