Title II. Economic Foundations
Article 20
The Republic of Cuba is governed by an economic system based on the socialist ownership by all of the people of the fundamental means of production as the primary form of property as well as the planned direction of the economy, which considers and regulates the economy according to the interests of the society.
Article 21
The following forms of property are recognized:
- Socialist ownership by all of the people: in which the State acts as a representative and beneficiary of this as a property owner.
- Cooperative: that which is sustained through the collective labor of partner owners and through the effective exercise of the principles of cooperation.
- Mixed: that which is formed through the combination of two or more forms of ownership.
- Of the political, social, and mass organizations: those that they exercise over their belongings.
- Private: that which is exercised over specific means of production, according to that which is established in the laws.
- Personal: that which is exercised over one’s belongings that, without constituting means of production, contribute to the satisfaction of the material and spiritual necessities of their owner.
The law regulates matters related to these and other forms of property. The State stimulates those of a more social character.
Article 22
The State regulates that property not be concentrated in the hands of non-state natural or juridical persons, with the purpose of preserving the limits compatible with the socialist values of equity and social justice.
The law establishes the regulations that guarantee their effective compliance.
Article 23
The following are socialist property of the people: the lands that do not belong to individuals or cooperatives composed of these individuals, the subterranean areas, the mines, the natural resources both living as well as nonliving within the exclusive economic zone of the Republic, the forests, the waters, and the means of communication.
These goods are inalienable, imprescriptible, and may not be seized, and as such, they may not be transferred as property to natural or juridical persons.
The transfer of other rights over these goods will occur with prior authorization from the organ or authority empowered to issue this authorization, according to that which is foreseen in the law and always when such a transference is for the purpose of the development of the country and it does not affect the political, economic, or social foundations of the State.
Socialist ownership by all of the people includes other goods, whose legal regime is defined in the law.
Article 24
The budgeted institutions possess goods that are socialist property of the entire population, over which the rights that correspond and accord with the provisions of the law are exercised.
Article 25
The State creates and organizes businesses with the objective of developing economic activities, such as production or the provision of services. These businesses exercise the rights that are assigned to them over the corresponding goods that are socially owned by the people.
These businesses respond to the obligations contracted within their patrimony in correspondence with the limits determined by the law.
The State does not respond to the obligations within the contracts of these businesses and they do not respond to those of the State.
The law defines other forms in which this type of property may be managed.
Article 26
A socialist state business is the primary subject of the national economy. The socialist state businesses perform with autonomy in their administration and management, as well as within their primary roles, the production of goods and services.
The law regulates the principles of their organization and operation.
Article 27
The State directs, regulates, and monitors national economic activity.
Socialist planning constitutes the central element of the country’s system of social and economic development management. The State’s essential function is to plan strategic development and to harmonize economic activity for the benefit of the society, reconciling national and territorial interests as well as those of the citizens.
Workers participate actively and consciously in these processes, according to that which is established.
Article 28
The State promotes and provides guarantees to foreign investment as an important element for the economic development of the country, which is based upon the protection and the rational use of the natural and human resources as well as respect for national sovereignty and independence.
The law establishes regulations with respect to foreign investment within the national territory.
Article 29
Private property over land is regulated by a special framework.
The sale or transmission of this good may only be realized within the limitations established by the law, and without prejudice to the preferential right of the State to the acquisition of land through the payment of a just price.
Leasing, sharecropping, mortgage loans, and any other act that implies a burden or causes a cessation to individuals of the rights emanating from the right to privately own property are prohibited.
Article 30
The expropriation of goods is solely authorized for the purpose of attending to reasons of public utility or social interest, with the required indemnity.
The law establishes the procedure for the expropriation, the required guarantees, the means to determine their utility and necessity, as well as the form of indemnity.
Article 31
Labor is a primordial value in our society. It constitutes a duty, a right, and a source of honor for all laborers. Further, it is the principal source of the inputs that sustain the realization of individual, collective, and social projects.
The distribution of wealth according to the labor contributed is complemented by the equitable satisfaction of needs through the universal social services as well as other benefits.
