Decree 174/2026
Cuban decree limiting local development projects to 100 hires and five years.
Published on 21 October 2026, Decree 174/2026 sets Cuba's five-year framework for local development projects, caps hired workers at 100 and assigns approval to municipal and provincial authorities.
Last refreshed: 22 October 2026
Can productive local projects repay investment before their five-year term expires?
Timeline for Decree 174/2026
Capped projects at 100 hires and five years
Cuba Dispatch: Cuba caps local projects at 100 workersBackground
Decree 174/2026 governs Cuba's territorial strategies and local development projects. It replaced Decree 33/2021 and places project approval with municipal and provincial authorities. A project's permitted activity must comply with the rules that apply to its participating economic actors, including Cuba's restrictions on non-state business.
The decree gives each approved project a planned life of no more than five years and caps its hired workforce at 100 people. Those limits distinguish a local development project from an open-ended business form. At the end of the term, the project can convert into a recognised economic actor with its owners' agreement or enter liquidation. The framework therefore treats local projects as time-limited tools for territorial development rather than permanent exceptions to Cuba's business rules.
What is Cuba's Decree 174/2026?
How many people can a Cuban local development project hire?
How long can a Cuban local development project run?
Who approves local development projects under Decree 174?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 22 October 2026. Editorial standards.