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Law 186 takes effect, cutting central government bodies in Cuba from 27 to 21

The law, published in the Official Gazette on November 2, took effect on Monday and leaves a structure of 20 ministries plus the Central Bank. Institutions have up to one year to complete the transfers, according to Periódico Cubano and Infobae.

Law 186, on the Organization of the Central State Administration, took effect on Monday, November 9 and cuts the Cuban government's central bodies from 27 to 21 through mergers and transfers of functions, with the stated aim of trimming bureaucracy and improving public management, according to Periódico Cubano.

The structure now consists of 20 ministries plus the Central Bank of Cuba, according to Ordinary Official Gazette No. 90, published on November 2. Infobae reported that the government consolidated 14 bodies into 8 new ministries and that the legal text justifies the reform by the need to 'reduce spending and eliminate bureaucratic duplication.' Institutions have up to one year to transfer staff, assets and funds, and ministers have 30 calendar days to submit their timetables.

Agriculture and Food brings together farming, food production, the sugar sector and fisheries; Economy and Finance concentrates planning, the state budget, fiscal affairs and tax policy; and Environment, Habitat and Water Resources groups housing, urban planning, water and environmental protection. The scheme also adds a Ministry of Information and Social Communication, with powers over state communication, advertising, sponsorship and certain procedures for organizing the media, according to Periódico Cubano.

Economist Pedro Monreal questioned that last portfolio, the disappearance of Domestic Trade as a standalone ministry and the division of powers over housing and construction. In August, workers and specialists at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment complained that staff had not been properly consulted, and the head of the National Seismological Service, Enrique Diego Arango Arias, described the body's disappearance as a 'serious mistake,' the same outlet reported.

The law does not spell out what happens to individual employees whose bodies disappear or are merged into others. In July, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz announced the elimination of more than 92,000 posts in Public Health, Education, Culture and the sports institute; the authorities said most were vacant administrative positions, so that figure cannot be presented as a tally of layoffs caused by the law, Periódico Cubano warned.

Sources: Periódico Cubano · Infobae

Data updated: 2026-11-09T16:15:00.000Z

Law 186 takes effect, cutting central government bodies in Cuba from 27 to 21 | Yamacoa Observatory