Cuba - Context and Land Governance

^{Tobacco Farm, El Palmarito, Vinales, Cuba photo by Annie Mole, Flickr    Attribution (CC BY 2.0)}

Cuba's economic situation has been significantly affected by the country's political history with milestones such as the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the socialist model that has been in place since then, the US embargo against the country in the framework of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Cuban economy has been experiencing a difficult situation that has worsened in recent times due to the consequences of the Covid pandemic, the tightening of US sanctions during the Donald Trump administration and mistakes in domestic monetary and economic policies.⁴ In addition to the lack of basic commodities such as food and medicine, blackouts and high inflation, there is now a shortage of fuel.

The Cuban agrarian structure has been dominated by large enterprises with wage labourers first under private ownership and after the Revolution under state ownership.⁵ State and collective ownership under state control have been the dominant forms of land ownership. Large tracts of idle land and the embargo explain low agricultural productivity, deteriorating soil quality, obsolete technology, lack of inputs, growing labour shortages and a high need to import goods.⁶ In fact, since 2008, developing and increasing agricultural production through the distribution of state and idle land in usufruct has been a priority for the Cuban government given the significant financial burden of Cuba importing 80% of what it consumes (2 billion dollars in 2014). ⁷

^{San Pedro del Morro Castle, Cuba, photo by Adam Jones, Flickr, CC BY 2.0} 
 

Historical context

After independence from Spain in 1901, Cuba consolidated its economic relationship with the United States, which led to a significant presence of US capital in the island's economic activity. The economy was based mainly on agricultural plantations and the extraction of raw materials for export to the United States. This economic model generated a structural imbalance characterised by national food shortages and the need to import basic goods.

In 1959, the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos among others, and motivated in part by the corruption and enrichment of the oligarchy, put an end to the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, in power since 1952. The seizure of power by Fidel Castro - in government from December 1959 to February 2008 - implied the establishment of a socialist system and the strengthening of Cuba's relationship with the Soviet Union in an international context characterised by the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

After the Cuban Revolution, most of the land became state property. Through land reforms in 1959 and 1963, US and Cuban latifundios and companies were confiscated and converted into large-scale state farms. The US response to these actions was the reduction of imports of Cuban products and the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. ⁸

State land management has dominated land governance in Cuba ever since. According to some authors, land reforms in Cuba did not result in a more equitable distribution of land, but rather in a transfer of power from an agrarian structure dominated by large private companies with salaried workers to the same structure but this time under state control.⁹ During this time, collective production structures such as the Agricultural Production Cooperatives (Cooperativas de Producción Agropecuaria, CPAs) were promoted. In the 1990s, coinciding with the demise of the Soviet Union, the exhaustion of the model and the increase in demand for land, land distribution was promoted. Some of the state companies were converted into Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC) and land was appropriated from state companies, multiplying precarious tenure.¹⁰ From 2008 onwards, large amounts of idle land were handed over in usufruct to small producers, a phenomenon that had begun on a small scale in the 1980s with tobacco producers.¹¹ But it was not until the reform of the Constitution in 2019 that the opening of the country to the market and foreign investment was accompanied by explicit recognition of private property.

^{Ministry of the Interior with image of Che Guevara, Havana, photo by Nicolas de Camaret, Flickr, CC BY 2.0}
 

Land legislation

Cuba's 2019 Constitution is the realisation of a reformed socio-economic model for the country that cements socialism as a system and ratifies the Communist Party of Cuba as the supreme political ruling force, and keeps its economy open to the market and foreign investment in a controlled manner.

One of the main reforms introduced by the 2019 Constitution is the explicit recognition of private property. The previous Constitution of 1976 recognised socialist ownership by all the people as the basis of the economic system. The closest thing to private property was the recognition of small farmers' ownership of the land legally belonging to them. They could only sell, exchange or otherwise transfer it to the state and to agricultural production cooperatives or small farmers in accordance with the law (art. 19).¹² In the 2019 Constitution, private ownership of land is recognised for Cuban or foreign natural or legal persons, but with restrictions such as the prohibition of leasing, sharecropping and mortgage loans to individuals (art. 29). ¹³

Since 2008, Cuban land legislation has focused mainly on the distribution of idle land in usufruct, given the large amount of land in state hands and in response to the need to develop agricultural production and commercialisation. This distribution does not transform land ownership, which remains in the hands of the state, but rather its management. In the same year, Decree Law 259 allows the handing over of idle land in usufruct to individual producers, cooperatives and other institutions for 10 renewable years to be used for agricultural production in accordance with the suitability of land use.¹⁴ According to the Decree, the state can terminate the usufruct contract for productive inactivity for six months, for failure to use the land rationally and sustainably, or for continued non-compliance with the contracted production, among other reasons. The maximum extension to be handed over for natural persons without land is 13.42 hectares, and for those who own land, in property or usufruct, they may extend it up to a maximum of 40.26 hectares.¹⁵

In 2012, Decree-Law 300 increased the maximum amount of land in usufruct to 67.10 hectares for natural persons linked to a State Farm with legal personality, Basic Unit of Cooperative Production (UBPC) or Agricultural Production Cooperative (CPA) as long as they are adjacent or within a maximum of five kilometres.¹⁶ A year later, Decree Law 311 extended the beneficiaries of this increase to natural persons linked to Credit and Service Cooperatives (CCS). ¹⁷

In 2017, the Cuban government announced the introduction of modifications to the policy of usufruct of state land, such as authorising natural persons with usufruct land to join agricultural, sugar or forestry companies, and extending the term of the usufruct for natural persons from 10 to 20 years.¹⁸ These amendments would be implemented in Law 358 of 2018.¹⁹

As a result of these changes in legislation, from 2008 to 2020, more than 2.5 million hectares were given in usufruct to 291,386 usufructuaries. ²⁰

Land tenure

The 2019 Constitution recognises the following types of property (art. 22): 1) socialist of all the people, with the state acting on behalf and for the benefit of the people; 2) cooperative, sustained by the collective work of the members and cooperativism; 3) of political, mass and social organisations, over goods destined to the fulfilment of their purposes; 4) private, by natural or legal persons, Cuban or foreign; 5) mixed; 6) of institutions and associative forms, on goods for non-profit purposes; 7) personal, on goods which, without constituting means of production, contribute to the satisfaction of the material and spiritual needs of the owner.²¹

Land that does not belong to individuals or cooperatives, the subsoil, mineral deposits, mines, forests, waters, beaches, communication routes and both living and non-living natural resources within the exclusive economic zone of the country are constitutionally "socialist property of the whole people". These assets cannot be transferred in ownership to natural or legal persons and are inalienable, imprescriptible and unseizable (art. 22).

Private ownership of land is regulated by a special regime under the Constitution. Leasing, sharecropping and mortgage loans to private individuals are prohibited. The sale or transfer of land under private ownership may only be carried out in accordance with legal requirements and without prejudice to the State's preferential right to acquire it. The concentration of ownership in non-state natural or legal persons is also regulated by the state on the basis of the socialist principles of equity and social justice (Art. 30).

Since the Revolution, state ownership has occupied the largest area of land despite a significant decline from 1982, when the state owned 82% of the land, to 1999 when it fell to just over 53% (ref. 2017 changes). After state ownership, until the constitutional reform of 2019, priority has been given to forms of tenure that promote cooperativism in the agricultural sector such as Agricultural Production Cooperatives (CPA), Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC) and Credit and Service Cooperatives (CCS).

In Decree Law 365 (2018), which updates Law 95 (2002), CPAs are defined as constituted by small farmers who voluntarily decide to contribute land or other assets they own to the assets of the cooperative, which, once created, can receive land in usufruct (art. 6).²² The same law defines CCSs as voluntary associations of small farmers who retain ownership or usufruct over their respective land and other assets, as well as over the production they obtain (art. 7.1). Through this form of cooperation, farmers participate in joint actions such as receiving technical assistance, legal procedures and credit management, among others. Although voluntary, when they were created in the 1960s, a large number of peasants joined them because it was a way to obtain credits, technical support and resources such as fertilisers, seeds, among others.²³ Some studies define them as the most productive structures in the country, but also point to a minimal level of cooperation and problems such as corruption within them. ²⁴

The UBPCs are constituted by the voluntary incorporation of natural persons who contribute their labour or the goods they own, receive the land in usufruct, and integrate their patrimony with the goods acquired by sale or any other title, as well as those obtained as a result of the productive processes they develop (art. 5).²⁵ In the 1990s, part of the state-owned companies were transformed into UBPCs with the aim of providing greater dynamism to the agricultural sector. However, some authors point out that in practice these units have continued to depend to a large extent on the state, as they must sell 70% of their production to the state company Acopio at prices lower than those on the free market, which makes it difficult to cover costs.²⁶ Their dependence on the state also lies in acquiring inputs and equipment through allocations, due to the impossibility of acquiring them on the free market.²⁷

Currently, according to official data, 76% of the agricultural area is state-owned, 14% is owned by small farmers and 7% is cooperatively owned.²⁸ The majority of land tenure among natural persons is as usufructuaries (68.2%), followed by owners (24.1%), dispersed (7.4%) and tenants (0.3%). ²⁹

^{Viñales, Cuba, photo by Adam Jones, Flickr, CC BY 2.0}

Land use trends

According to official data from 2017, more than half (57.3%) of Cuba's total land area is agricultural and covers 6.3 billion hectares, slightly less than in 2013 (6.342 million hectares).³⁰ Of the total agricultural area, the cultivated area is smaller (49%) than the uncultivated area and 27% is managed by the state, 32% by private companies and 41% by cooperatives.³¹ This diversification in the management of agricultural land responds to the need to increase the cultivated agricultural area, to the losses in the agricultural sector due to extreme weather events and climate change, and in general, to the low productivity and high dependence on imports with the consequent challenges for food security in Cuba. ³²

Agricultural land is divided into four categories according to its productivity. Category IV and III lands are the least productive and constitute 76.8%. These lands are mainly located in the eastern part of the country. Category I and II lands are the most productive, constituting 23.2% of the agricultural area and are mostly located in the western and central regions.³³ Other sources claim that highly productive and productive soils amount to 16% and 17% respectively, and medium and low productive soils occupy 21% and 46% respectively. ³⁴

Soil improvement is one of the Cuban government's objectives through the National Programme for Soil Conservation and Improvement, which by 2030 aims to reach a beneficiary area of 60% of the total cultivated area.³⁵ According to official data, 71% of the national surface is affected by erosion, which has a direct impact on the productive capacity of the soil, in addition to other problems such as salinity, compaction and acidity.³⁶ In response to this situation, Decree Law 50, in force since 2022, regulates the activities of conservation, improvement, sustainable management and the use of fertilisers on agricultural and forestry soils. It increases the number of offences (from 9 to 30) and the amounts of fines and sanctions. The regulation applies both to landowners and to all actors involved in the use of soils for agricultural and forestry activities. It establishes obligations in relation to soil fertility, crop nutrition and the institutionalisation of a central fertiliser register for the registration, control and marketing of these products. ³⁷

According to independent data, in 2020, the agricultural crop with the highest production volume was sugar cane (71.8%) followed by vegetables (4.1%), cassava (3.4%) and bananas (3.1%).³⁸ Except in the case of sugar cane, there is no correspondence between the crops with the highest production and those that occupied the largest area: sugar cane (27.7%), maize (11.1%), rice (6.5%) and beans (6.3%). ³⁹

The cultivated area includes the area dedicated to livestock farming, for which, in 2020, 3,694,804 hectares were used.⁴⁰ Data from 2022 indicate that of the country's total bovine livestock (3,645,000 head), 80% is in the hands of individual producers and 10.8% is in the state sector.⁴¹ In recent times, the livestock sector has had to face challenges such as the theft and illegal slaughter of cattle and horses. One of the areas particularly affected is the province of Villa Clara, where between January and March 2023, 4,835 head of livestock (2,893 cattle and 1,942 horses) were illegally slaughtered and sold on the informal market. These figures are more than double what happened during the same period last year, which shows a worsening of a problem that affects both private livestock farmers and state livestock companies. ⁴²

The area of uncultivated land includes natural pasture (2.617 million hectares) and idle land (917,000 hectares). In 2014, the government handed over more than 1.5 million hectares of idle land in usufruct for agricultural, livestock or forestry use.⁴³ Data from the same year indicate that the province with the largest amount of idle land was Camagüey with almost 324,000 hectares.⁴⁴ Although, in general, the area of idle land has tended to decrease, in Ciego de Avila and Guantanamo it increased that year to slightly more than 100,000 and 15,000 hectares respectively.⁴⁵ Ownership of idle land is diverse. For example, in 2014, 55% of the more than one million hectares of idle land was in the hands of state agricultural enterprises and 24% belonged to the usufructuary cooperatives Unidades Básicas de Producción Agropecuaria (Basic Units of Agricultural Production).⁴⁶

The forest area has tended to increase since 1990 - when it occupied 18.7% of the territory - reaching 31% (about 3.339 million hectares) in 2018.⁴⁷ Forests in Cuba are classified into production forests, water and soil protection forests, and conservation forests (for the protection of fauna and for leisure and scientific activities).⁴⁸

Part of Cuba's surface area is dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and natural resources through protected areas (terrestrial and marine). There are no official figures available online on the surface area occupied by protected areas in Cuba and unofficial sources offer figures as disparate as 6.75% (in 2021)⁴⁹ and 21% (in 2019)⁵⁰ . In 2019 there were 211 protected areas registered with different statuses: 103 approved, 108 unapproved, 120 managed, 91 unmanaged, 77 considered of national significance and 134 considered of local significance. ⁵¹

Regarding the urban area in Cuba, World Bank figures from 2015 put it at 3,053 km2 , up from 2,749 km2 in 2000.⁵²

^{Tobacco leaves drying in Viñales, photo by Reinhardt König, Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0}

Investments and land acquisitions

The socialist model and the state's control over land that has prevailed in Cuba since the Revolution largely explain the scarcity of private investment in land in the country. In recent decades, the country's economic problems have made it easier for the government to support investment in the tourism sector, which is considered an important source of foreign exchange. Havana's recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the beaches and Cuban history and culture are tourist attractions and both the government and foreign investors have invested in developing the country's tourism sector despite the absence of a formal land market.⁵³ One of the ways pursued by the Cuban government has been to use land as its capital contribution in partnerships with international developers. An example of this is the partnership between the Cuban government and the Canadian company VanCuba Holdings S.A. for the construction of eleven hotels, in which the Cuban participation of 50% consisted in the contribution of the land. ⁵⁴

Another mechanism used extensively by the Cuban government has been the leasing of land for commercial projects, since the direct sale of state land has only been possible on very special occasions. These leases are established for 25 years by agreement between the parties.⁵⁵ A third modality has been direct leasing of state land in free trade zones. By the year 2000, some 120 private foreign and public-private companies had established themselves in Havana's commercial zones under this modality. ⁵⁶

Data from the World Tourism Organisation on the availability of hotels and similar establishments can give an idea of the size of investments in the tourism sector: in 2021 there is the lowest number of such accommodations since 1995 (339,000), a number significantly lower than the 450,000 in 2011.⁵⁷ These data contradict the growth of tourism beds during the same years (103,224 in 2011 and 106,890 in 2021).⁵⁸ The authorisation of accommodation offers in private homes given in 2019⁵⁹ by the Cuban government could partly explain this contradiction, although there is no evidence whether this measure had an impact on land investments for the tourism sector. The re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States in 2015 allowed visits by Americans to the country, hitherto banned, with the exception of Cuban-Americans, which injected optimism into investors in the sector. This optimism would not last long, as the arrival of Donald Trump to the US presidency in 2017 led to the tightening of the blockade against Cuba. ⁶⁰

Since the opening of Cuba to the market, foreign investment in Cuban agriculture has increased. According to the government, of the more than 30 proposed foreign investment projects, nine have been approved, five have been set up and the rest are in the negotiation process.⁶¹

Critics link the difficulties in the Cuban countryside and the need to import food to the lack of a real, privately owned land market. They consider that the modernisation and development of agriculture in Cuba depends on private property and commercial freedom, as this would imply giving a correct value to the land and calculating on that basis what combination of technique and labour can maximise its productivity. ⁶²

The Cuban government, however, appears to have made exceptions for investments from Russia. For example, the government has offered Russian investors unusual concessions to use land for 30-year terms, to be exempt from import tariffs on certain technologies and to repatriate their profits.⁶³ Since 2020, trade between Cuba and Russia has increased by 93% and Russian investment is going into transport, tourism, food production and other projects.

In relation to state investments, between 2013 and 2019 investments in the agricultural sector have grown by an average of 4.8% per year.⁶⁴ The objective of these investments has been the improvement of food production chains aimed at improving infrastructure, modernisation and the introduction of technologies.

Women's land rights

Disaggregated data on women's access to land in Cuba available online is scarce. The latest data found is provided by the Cuba Voluntary Report on the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2021, according to which 32% of land owners are women (30,955) and 16% of land usufructuaries are women (44,027). ⁶⁵

In Cuba, rural women have played an active role in different activities in the agricultural sector, mainly related to food production. Data from 2019 indicate that 353,313 rural women work in the agri-food sector, of these 342,730 are engaged in agricultural enterprises and 10,583 work in the sugar sector.⁶⁶ In particular, 20% of the members of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) are women and the brigades of the Federation of Cuban Women-ANAP group 68,836 women.⁶⁷

This participation has been favoured by rural production cooperatives. According to some studies, women found such structures a beneficial space due to better conditions for access to basic resources such as water and electricity, and offered benefits for child rearing and access to new technologies for agricultural production.⁶⁸ In them, women were also able to play an innovative and leadership role. For example, in the Abel Santamaría Credit and Service Cooperative in Holguín province, women led initiatives to diversify the production of new species of beans. This also led to the empowerment of women who participated (in greater numbers than men, 51%) in biodiversity fairs and were trained in sustainable agriculture, food conservation, ecological animal husbandry, among others.

Currently, there are several institutions and programmes aimed at promoting the active participation of rural women. One of these is the Network of Agencies and Institutions for the Support of Rural Women, created in 1992 at the request of the FAO.⁶⁹ Together with the Ministry of Agriculture and organisations in the agricultural sector, the Network has organised workshops and meetings aimed at the recognition and exchange of experiences of rural women. The Ministry of Agriculture adopted a gender strategy that has materialised, for example, in the project on gender-equitable quality management for food security at local level IGECSA in cooperation with UNDP and with the financial support of the European Union and the Government of Canada.⁷⁰ In 2016, the Gender Strategy of the System of Agriculture (EG-SA) was approved with the aim of guiding, encouraging and supporting a management for equal rights and opportunities for women and men at all levels of the agricultural system.⁷¹ 13 cooperatives have been certified as "We are committed to equality", which implies strengthening capacities to promote women's rights and the gender approach.⁷² The Cuban Association of Animal Production (ACPA)⁷³ and the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP)⁷⁴ also have their gender strategies.

However, at the subjective level, gender differences are still present in Cuba. Studies show that, since the Revolution, Cuban women's activism has consisted of contributing to achieving the objectives of the revolutionary movement and the socialist model, rather than vindicating their rights as women with an autonomous movement and their own objectives.⁷⁵ Some authors point out that this led to a lack of change in men's subjectivity in relation to gender inequalities and that Cuban society today continues to be characterised by a marked subjective bias, which is present to a greater extent in the rural sector.⁷⁶

Women's participation in decision-making is generally low, although there have been differences depending on the type of land tenure. Data from 2005 indicate that the presence of women as presidents is lower in CCSs (2.5%), where land is owned by individual farmers, than in CPAs (5.1%) where land is owned collectively.⁷⁷ In the same year, 266 women, compared to 722 men, were leaders at the national level of ANAP.⁷⁸ Since then, there has been an increase. In 2017, 70,523 women were part of ANAP (18.4% of the total) and of these 48% held leadership positions.⁷⁹ Data from 2009 also indicate that women accounted for 57% of the presidents of grassroots organisations and 50% of the board members. ⁸⁰

^{La Mula, Cuba, photo by Claudia Regina, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0}

Where to go next?

Author's suggestions for further reading

The socialist model implemented in Cuba since the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s has significantly shaped land governance on the island. The authors of the article "Agrarian Policy and Rural Development in Cuba, the Public Sector of Agriculture", published in the Florida Journal of International Law, Maritza de la Caridad and Mc Cormack Bequer, review how Cuban agrarian policy has evolved up to the present day. From an economic point of view, Jaime Gabriel García-Ruiz analyses in his article "La renta del suelo en Cuba. La apropiación del excedente económico agropecuario", published in the journal Estudios del Desarrollo Social in 2022, the land market and land profitability in Cuba.⁸¹ Cuban women have played an important role in food production and food security within the structures of the island's socialist model, although gender inequalities persist. The report IGECSA Gender Equality for Quality Management of Food Security: A Guidance Document for Implementation presents a model for inserting a gender equality management system in small and medium-sized local entities involved in food security promoted by the Cuban government and UNDP.⁸² Two reports published in 2021 that give visibility to the overall situation of rural women in Cuba are Escenarios de políticas y desigualdades económicas en mujeres rurales en Cuba, published by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung,⁸³ and Condición y posición de las mujeres rurales en Cuba.⁸⁴ For recent data and knowledge on the general situation in Cuba in relation to the rural sector and beyond, the Voluntary Report of Cuba on the country's progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2021 is recommended. ⁸⁵

Timeline - milestones in land governance

1953-1959 - Cuban Revolution

The revolutionary movement led by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro put an end to the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and imposed a socialist model which, although recently made more flexible, has lasted to the present day.

1959 - First agrarian reform

The first agrarian reform was based on the belief that large state-owned companies should lead agricultural production, so there was no redistribution of land, but priority was given to nationalising land owned by foreign companies. It left 400 hectares of land to the Creole large landowners.

1963 - Second agrarian reform

This reform limited land ownership to 67 hectares, mainly affecting the bourgeoisie. The rest of the land was nationalised. Thus, 71% (7.8 million hectares) of agricultural land was in the hands of the state and 1.1 million hectares went to producers in unfavourable conditions.⁸⁶

1980s - Boosting tobacco production

In the 1980s, the first usufruct land for tobacco production was given to landless farmers or farmers with very little land. The plots were granted free of charge and for an indefinite period of time.

1993 - Reopening of the agricultural free market

The crisis that followed the disappearance of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to structural changes in the rural sector in Cuba, such as the transformation of part of the state enterprises into Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC) and the reopening of the agricultural free market.

2008 - Legislation for the distribution of idle usufruct land

Starting this year, legislation will be developed for the delivery of idle land in usufruct, beginning with Decree Law 259 of 2008, which allows for the delivery of such land to individual producers, cooperatives and other institutions.

2019 - Reform of the Constitution

For the first time since the Cuban Revolution, private property is explicitly recognised in the Constitution.

References

[1] National Office of Statistics and Information (2022). Anuario Estadístico de Cuba 2022. Republic of Cuba.

[2] National Bureau of Statistics and Information (2012). Population and Housing Census 2012. Report on preliminary figures. Republic of Cuba.

[3] Aja Díaz, A. (2021). "Política de Población. Experiences from Cuba". Revista Novedades en Población. 17(33); Albizu-Campos Espiñeira, J. C. and Díaz-Briquets, S. (2023). "Cuba and emigration. Departure as a voice". Columbia Law School; Amerise, A. (2022). "Why Cuba's population has not exceeded 11 million for 25 years (and what the consequences are)". BBC Mundo.

[4] Mesa-Lago, C. (2020). Cuba: economic crisis, its causes, COVID-19 and rescue policies. Real Instituto El Cano.

[5] Echevarría, D. and Merlet, M. (2017). "Changes in Cuba's agrarian policy in the framework of the updating of its economic and social model". Cahiers d'Amérique Latine 84.

[6] Nova González, A. (2008). "El sector agropecuario en Cuba". Nueva Sociedad 216.

[7] Infobae. (2023). "El régimen cubano admitió la grave crisis económica que atravesa la isla debido a la escasez de alimentos y combustible"; Ministerio de Economía y Planificación.

[8] Niederstrasser, R. (2023). "New expropriation law in Cuba claims 'state interest'". Foreign Affairs Latin America.

[9] Echevarría, D. and Merlet, M. (2017). "Changes in Cuba's agrarian policy in the framework of the updating of its economic and social model". Cahiers d'Amérique Latine 84.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Political Constitution of the Republic of Cuba (1976).

[13] Constitution of the Republic of Cuba (2019).

[14] Decree Law 259 on the delivery of idle land in usufruct (2008). [15] Ibid.

[16] Decree Law 300 on the handing over of idle state land in usufruct (2012).

[17] Decree Law 311 on the handing over of idle state land in usufruct (2013).

[18] Guerrero, D. (2017). "Cuba modifies policy for handing over land in usufruct". Cuba Debate.

[19] Decree Law 358 on the handing over of idle state land in usufruct (2018).

[20] Cuba 2021 National Voluntary Report. Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations.

[21] Constitution of the Republic of Cuba (2019).

[22] Decree Law 365 on Agricultural Cooperatives (2018).

[23] González, A. M. and Artiles Beltrán, J. L. (2016). "Agricultural credit and service cooperatives in Cuba". Civilizar Ciencias Sociales y Humanas 16(30).

[24] Ibid.

[25] Decree Law 365 on Agricultural Cooperatives (2018).

[26] Echevarría, D. and Merlet, M. (2017). "Changes in Cuba's agrarian policy in the framework of the updating of its economic and social model". Cahiers d'Amérique Latine 84.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (2020). First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2020.

[29] Cuba 2021 National Voluntary Report. Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations.

[30] Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (2020). First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2020.

[31] Cuba 2021 National Voluntary Report. Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations.

[32] Anaya Cruz, B. and García, A. (2023). "Necessary reflections on food security in Cuba". International Journal of Cuban Studies 15(1).

[33] Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (2020). First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2020.

[34] Cuba 2021 National Voluntary Report. Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Alonso Falcón, R. (2022). "What does the new legislation stipulate on the conservation, improvement and sustainable management of soils and the use of fertilisers?" Cuba Debate.

[37] Ibid.

[38] Blog Agricultura (2020). Cuba's most important agricultural crops / It was not possible to access the Anuario Estadístico de Cuba for official information.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (2020). First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2020.

[41] Tamayo León, R. (2022). Cuban cattle farming has a great history and also the capacity to recover. Presidency and Government of Cuba.

[42] Sifonte Díaz, Y. J. and Carmona Tamayo, E. (2023). "Se busca: Relatos sobre el hurto y sacrificio del Ganado en Cuba (III)". CubaDebate. The above articles have figures from all over the country

[43] Cuba Debate (2014). "More than one and a half million hectares have been handed over in usufruct in Cuba (+ Gaceta)".

[44] Echevarría, D. and Merlet, M. (2017). "Changes in Cuba's agrarian policy in the framework of the updating of its economic and social model". Cahiers d'Amérique Latine 84.

[45] Ibid.

[46] Cuba Debate (2014). "More than one million hectares are idle in Cuba.

[47] Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (2020). First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2020.

[48] Ibid.

[49] Index Mundi. Cuba - Protected areas.

[50] CubAhora (2019). Cuba's protected areas in figures.

[51] EcuRed. Protected areas of Cuba.

[52] World Bank. Urban land area (square kilometres) - Cuba / It was not possible to access the Anuario Estadístico de Cuba for official information.

[53] Núñez, R., Brown, J. and Smolka, M. (2000). Land as a resource to promote development in Cuba. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

[54] Ibid.

[55] Ibid.

[56] Ibid.

[57] World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). 145 Key Tourism Statistics.

[58] Ibid.

[59] Salinas Chávez, E., Salinas Chávez, E. and Mundet i Cerdan, L. (2019). "Tourism in Cuba: Development, Challenges and Perspectives". Rosa dos Ventos 11(1). Universidade de Caxias do Sul.

[60] Ibid.

[61] Ministry of Economy and Planning (2023). Agriculture has more than 30 projects with foreign investment.

[62] Cruz, R. (2022). "No land market, no food market in Cuba". Diario de Cuba.

[63] El Toque (2023). "Russian investments in Cuba: business and agreements since 2020".

[64] Cuba 2021 National Voluntary Report. Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations.

[65] Ibid.

[66] Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations (2019). Note to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

[67] Cuba 2021 National Voluntary Report. Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations.

[68] Arce-Rodríguez, M. B. (2012). "Women in Cuban agriculture: recovering an experience". Ra Ximhai 8(1).

[69] Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations (2019). Note to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

[70] IGECSA Gender Equality for Quality Food Security Management: Guidance for Implementation (2014).

[71] García Aguilar, M., Bombino Companioni, Y., Anaya Cruz, B. and Echevarría León, D. (2021). Condition and position of rural women in Cuba.

[72] Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations (2019). Note to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

[73] Contribution of the Cuban Association of Animal Production (ACPA) to the Report of Cuba to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW.

[74] Castañeda Pérez, I. (2007). Aproximación al Estudio de la Equidad de Género en la ANAP: Premisas para un Diagnóstico. Master's thesis. FLACSO. University of Havana.

[75] Arce-Rodríguez, M. B. (2012). "Women in Cuban agriculture: recovering an experience". Ra Ximhai 8(1).

[76] Ibid.

[77] Ibid.

[78] Ibid.

[79] Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations (2019). Note to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

[80] Ibid.

[81] García-Ruiz, J. G. (2022). "La renta del suelo en Cuba. The appropriation of the agricultural economic surplus". Estudios del Desarrollo Social 10(2).

[82] IGECSA Gender Equality for Quality Food Security Management: Guidance for Implementation (2014).

[83] Ramos Ojeda, D. et. al. (2021). Policy scenarios and economic inequalities in rural women in Cuba. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

[84] García Aguilar, M., Bombino Companioni, Y., Anaya Cruz, B. and Echevarría León, D. (2021). Condition and position of rural women in Cuba.

[85] Cuba 2021 National Voluntary Report. Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations.

[86] Echevarría, D. and Merlet, M. (2017). "Changes in Cuba's agrarian policy in the framework of the updating of its economic and social model". Cahiers d'Amérique Latine 84.