Cuba on Tuesday enacted a decree allowing private businesses to operate in a broad range of sectors previously reserved for the state, including banking, pharmacies, gas stations, elder-care homes, port terminals and professional services such as law, architecture and engineering, marking one of the country's most significant economic openings in decades.
The measure replaces a blanket list of prohibited private activities with a new framework that classifies industries into four categories, ranging from those permanently banned to those that private businesses may enter with government authorization. Officials said 46 previously prohibited activities have been fully opened to the private sector, while restrictions on another 35 have been eased.
