HAVANA (AP) 鈥� Cuba鈥檚 powerful Communist Party on Thursday featuring unprecedented free-market measures aimed at opening up the struggling island鈥檚 economy as pressure from the U.S. and the European Union heightens.
The document, which has not yet been made public, will be submitted Thursday to Cuba鈥檚 National Assembly. It envisions expanding opportunities for private enterprise, greater autonomy for municipalities and state-owned companies and measures to attract additional foreign investment, including from Cubans abroad.
In recent days, residents in several Havana neighborhoods staged protests, banging pots and pans as spread across the island.
鈥淐uba resists heroically and creatively, but has endured for too long a barbaric, undeserved and unbearable punishment, to which is now added the threat of military aggression,鈥� said late Wednesday in the closing speech of the Communist Party session. The speech was published Thursday.
The announcement comes after months of increasing pressure from the U.S. and high-level talks between the two countries that have included Ra煤l Castro鈥檚 grandson, Ra煤l Guillermo Rodr铆guez Castro. The U.S. has levied numerous sanctions against Cuba and in connection with the 1996 downing of two civilian planes operated by Miami exiles.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said at a White House press briefing that the administration is watching the island’s actions to determine how to respond.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to see what they do. And obviously, if they do one thing, we鈥檙e going to do something,鈥� Vance said. “If they make smart decisions, we鈥檙e going to have a much better relationship with that island.鈥�
Pressure from the European Union also ratcheted up Thursday, with lawmakers passing a resolution condemning 鈥渢he systematic repression鈥� by the Cuban government and demanding 鈥減rofound economic and political change.鈥� The resolution also called for EU sanctions targeting and the leadership of a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. Both have already been sanctioned by the U.S.
顿铆补锄-颁补苍别濒 said the emergency plan and the policy document prepared by the Communist Party鈥檚 Central Committee were shaped by the experiences of China and Vietnam, two communist countries that have introduced market-oriented economic reforms while maintaining one-party rule.
The document will be submitted to the National Assembly for debate during a special session that, like the recent party meeting, was convened without prior public notice.
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Seung Min Kim in Washington and Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this story.
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