FILE PHOTO: A view of the seafront Malecon during an overnight curfew amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease , in Havana, Cuba, September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini/Pool/File PhotoHAVANA: In a major reform of the state-dominated economy, the Cuban government will allow small private businesses to operate in most fields, eliminating its limited list of activities, state-run media reported on Saturday .
Reform-minded Cuban economists have long called for the role of small business to be expanded to help jump-start the economy and to create jobs. The crisis has forced a series of long promised but stalled reforms, from devaluation of the peso and reorganization of the monetary system to some deregulation of state businesses and foreign investment.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel said last year the country faced an international and local crisis and would implement a series of reforms to increase exports, cut imports and stimulate domestic demand.