Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has acknowledged that some of the island’s economic problems ‘don’t come from outside’, a reference to foreign pressure campaigns [Getty]

Cuba’s Communist Party has approved a raft of unprecedented free-market measures as part of an emergency economic package.

The package was submitted to the country’s National Assembly on Thursday, where it is all but assured to pass.

The plan would expand opportunities for private enterprise and create measures to attract additional foreign investment, including from Cubans abroad.

It could also set the stage for private real estate development ⁠on the Caribbean island and the ⁠transformation of state-owned businesses ⁠into private commercial ventures with shares and equity stakes. It would also ‌allow private banks to enter Cuba’s once state-dominated ‌finance ‌sector.

The reform package signals a dramatic shift for Cuba, which is led by the Communist Party.