Thousands of Cubans will be able to get titles to state-owned homes under regulations published on Friday — a step that might lay the groundwork for broader housing reform.
The measure was the first legal decree formally published since Raul Castro succeeded his brother Fidel as president in February. It comes a day after state TV said the government will also do away with wage limits, allowing state employees to earn as much they can as an incentive to productivity.
Together, housing and wage restrictions have been among the things that bother Cubans the most about their socialist system.
The housing decree spells out rules to let Cubans renting from their state employers keep their apartment or house after leaving their posts. They could gain title and even pass it on to their children or relatives.
Thousands of Cubans could take advantage of this move, including military families, sugar workers, construction workers, teachers and doctors.
Holding onto state housing originally designated for specific workers has been a widespread but usually informal fact of Cuban life. A 1987 law had foreseen transferring such housing to occupants, but this new measure should clarify their legal status.
“This is like no man’s land that they are legalizing,” said Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a state-trained economist who became a critic of the government. “It gets rid of that insecurity many people had and alleviates bureaucratic pressure.”
By law, Cubans still cannot sell their homes to anyone but the government, though they can swap housing with government approval — a process that can take years to complete.
Two officials at Cuba’s National Housing Institute said Friday’s law was likely the first in a series of housing reforms. Both asked not to be named, however, because they were not authorized to speak to foreign media. They said “thousands and thousands” of Cubans would be affected, but did not give exact figures.
Espinosa Chepe, who was jailed for his political views during a 2004 crackdown but subsequently released on medical parole, said that “giving people deeds could give them more freedom to sell their homes and maybe rent them as long as they pay taxes.”
Home to 11.2 million people, Cuba suffers from a severe housing shortage. Officials say they need half a million additional homes. Critics claim the need is twice that.
The housing law was published a day after a commentator on state TV said the government will also do away with wage limits, allowing state employees to earn as much they can as an incentive to be more productive. Economic commentator Ariel Terrero said a resolution approved in February but not yet published will remove the salary caps designed to promote social and economic equality.
“For the first time, it is clearly and precisely stated that a salary does not have a limit, that the roof of a salary depends on productivity,” Terrero said.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
RSS