Cuban state workers who have been paying rent to the government for years will get a chance to own their properties, the Cuban housing ministry announced in an official decree Friday. The move came on the heels of a broadcast announcement that salary caps would also be lifted, raising the speculation that even more broad reforms could be coming. ”Maybe it’s a hopeful sign that they are making changes,” said attorney Nicolás J. Gutiérrez, who represents clients in Miami whose properties on the island were confiscated. “I don’t think it’s earth-shaking … but it’s something. ”They don’t want to do too much because they fear they will whet people’s appetite for more and be swept out of power,” Gutiérrez said. “But they realize they have to do something.” Cuba has long boasted that up to 85 percent of its populace owns its own homes. But even those who have titles cannot sell their homes or leave them to relatives who don’t live there. Many other people live in rental housing projects set aside by their employers, such as the military, and this measure would put them on par with the majority of Cubans who have […]
Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Renters in Cuba Will Soon Get Titles To Their Properties
Author: FRANCES ROBLES
Source: Miami-Herald
Publication Date: Fri, Apr. 11, 2008
Link: Renters in Cuba Will Soon Get Titles To Their Properties
Source: Miami-Herald
Publication Date: Fri, Apr. 11, 2008
Link: Renters in Cuba Will Soon Get Titles To Their Properties
Stephan: Quietly, with almost no notice either public or official, Cuba has begun the long road out of Communism, a trail blazed by Russia, and the Communist nations of Europe. There will be no violent revolution. The punishment and bloodshed sought by much of the Cuban American community, and decades of American policy will not happen. This path is now well-blazed, and the Cubans are better prepared to walk it than the former Soviet Union nations and, I am sure, they have studied closely what happened with their philosophical cousins. It will be interesting to see how America chooses to respond.
If it is Obama my prediction is it will be intelligent and comnpassionate - we should have learned some lessons by now as well. With McCain I believe he will be trapped in the past and it will be unpleasant and pugnacious. And the Cuban Americans will make it conditional on their receiving restitution. But if the Cuban transition holds true to form, they will rely on the Eastern European and German precedents, and they will be unsatisfied. It will also be interesting to see how the Cuban American community responds once that is settled.
