Cuba's party congress agrees to allow private property

[The Northerner]

Source: BBC

Cuba says it will allow people to buy and sell their homes for the first time since the communist revolution in 1959.

For the past 50 years, Cubans have only been allowed to pass on their homes to their children, or to swap them through a complicated and often corrupt system.

The move was decided during the first congress held by the ruling Communist Party in 14 years, aimed at breathing new life into the communist system.

No details were given on how the new property sales could work.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13125104

[flamingdem]

1. that's good, it is such a mess with the "permuta"

that allows one to exchange a house but no money should be exchanged.

That gets very abused and there are all kinds of middlemen too.

[boppers]

2. Russia, Poland, China, Cuba...

Turns out the core ideas didn't work out. Well, at least they were tried, but they were locked into fixed dogma.... and brought us mixed socialist/democratic/capitalist societies.

[joshcryer]

4. What we do know for certain is that...

...ultimately state socialism is a failure, always has been, always will be.

I do think that it can work, but without the state trying to force it down our throats.

[joshcryer]

3. Now, if Obama lifted the embargo (which he can do without congress)...

...but I think the US wants to wait until Castro is dead, just to spite him.

[dipsydoodle]

5. Do house owners there

also have title to the land ?

[joshcryer]

7. Where?

In the US title to property is tied directly to land, as the surveyor only has that to determine what property is "yours." The value of said property is determined through other decadal or so assessor process.

[dipsydoodle]

14. I meant in Cuba

In the UK I have title deeds to my house and the associated land on which it stands to its boundaries - probably excludes mineral right though. In Cuba does the State retain title to the land on which a private house sits ?

[joshcryer]

17. The "People’s Housing Authority" gives land to Cubans...

...including land on which one may build a house. However, not having access to the various laws governing such land apportionment I have no idea if that is a covenant or a title. I expect insofar as it concerns farmland it is the former, and insofar as it concerns land which a habitation is built, it's as muddled as it is anywhere, with government retaining all right to acquire said land (although in the US we have the ability to elect representatives which make sure our land does not go to the government, though of course in practice it doesn't always work out that way, with council members and such allowing Wal-Marts to go up, etc).

[dipsydoodle]

19. Covenant is more likely.

That precludes anyone rounding up adjacent properties to from land estates. He alluded to that in his speech when he mentioned something along the lines of "large land ownership being prohibited"

Compulsory purchase orders are a different matter. All countries seem to be guilty of that in some shape or form. There have been some real horror stories out of Spain over the past few years.

[joshcryer]

18. Here's a Cuban blogger's take:

http://pequenohermanoenglish.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/and-they-lived-happily-ever-after/

The word "assignment" is used as a direct quote, so it is probably closer to a covenant? It would be a shame if the Cuban government bulldozed good houses because it claims ownership over the land, though. :(

edit: the spanish says "asignado" which is a direct spanish -> english of "assigned": http://elpequenohermano.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/y-vivieron-felices-y-comieron-perdices/

[hollowdweller]

6. Think of all the money and time

That the US has spent trying to overthrow Castro and the gov't in Cuba.

Now they are voting in private property.

Shows that if we really DID think communisim was a bad system that we should have just sat back and gave it some time rather than spending all that money and energy there.

[slackmaster]

8. The dominoes are falling one by one

:hide:

[Imajika]

9. Oh the true believers must be crying in their coffee...

Cuba is going for market reforms, encouraging people to start businesses, laying off hundreds of thousands of government employees, about to allow private property. The end of Cuban communism is obviously at hand.

What do the marxist faithful have left? North Korea maybe? Laos?

[Broderick]

10. I kind of think Chavez is moving in the opposite direction

so the true believers can hope and pray he succeeds in his quests. Then again, who knows what the true story in Venezuela is?

[Imajika]

11. Maybe Chavez will learn from this?

Chavez thought Cuba could be a good economic role model. Perhaps what appears to be the collapse of Cuban communism will help him realize that he is going down a path of failure?

Your right though, as long as Chavez keeps pushing for more government control and nationalizing industries and companies, the true believers will flock to him. What else do they have left?

[Broderick]

12. Chavez has one caveat economically that Cuba did not

Oil.

[Imajika]

15. The Soviet Union also had oil...

...and it still collapsed.

The Chavez "socialist" vision in Venezuela will fail as well.

[Broderick]

16. Most excellent point

doubtful Chavez will understand the lessons of history though.

[ngant17]

20. Cuba has been punished by an embargo and boycot for 50 yrs.

which Venezuela doesn't not have and has not ever had. Big difference there, too. For all practical purposes, Venezuela has normal business relations with the US, which isn't the same for Cuba.

[bitchkitty]

13. Cubans changing Cuba.

Not the disgruntled elites of Miami. It is as it should be.

Hugo Chavez is smiling, especially if he's reading this thread.

It is better to be looked over than overlooked
Mae West