Cuba's party congress agrees to allow private property

[dipsydoodle]

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.

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

[Judi Lynn]

1. Cuba lifts ban on private property transactions

Cuba lifts ban on private property transactions
14:44, April 19, 2011

The ruling Communist Party of Cuba Monday lifted a decades-old ban on private property transactions such as buying and selling of houses and cars at its ongoing Sixth Congress.

The move met one of the main demands made by the public during the national debate on Cuba's economic reform plan from December to February, in which 8.9 million Cubans, or nearly 80 percent of the country's total population participated.

In Saturday's opening address to the congress, Cuban Leader Raul Castro said the Caribbean island nation is upgrading legal regulations related to private property transactions.

At present, about 90 percent of Cubans own houses but are not authorized to sell them, while the country currently is short of over one million houses due to the damages caused by three hurricanes in 2008.

More:
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7354890.html

[Billy Burnett]

2. I can see a bug future traunching Cuban mortgage derivatives.

Wanna git in on the ground floor? LOL

:hi:

[dipsydoodle]

3. Earlier this week Raul had declared

the State would not allow "extensive land ownership" or words to that effect. That locks out estates being recreated which is the risk if any "foreign money" starts flying in. Having said that I have a feeling that the State retains land ownership even for privately owned houses.

It does seem to be technically possible for outsiders to own property there even now. That may be a bi-product of houses which have gone to State ownership as a result of the owners dying and having no children or siblings to will to.

The two Russian lads with Canadian citizenship I pal'd up with last October had another Canadian friend who apparently owned one. He was paying locals remotely to do the restoration a bit at a time which sounded like a forever job to me. It had taken two months to hand carve a front door. Could be he was doing it almost as an act of kindness to provide some with woodworking skills meaningful work.

:hi:

[Billy Burnett]

4. I'm actually considering giving up my US residency status.

And moving back to Canada.

Then, residing in a free country, I could travel to-and-fro when and where I wanted to.

Of course, I could invest in Cuban real estate. ;)

[joshcryer]

6. Hmm, so not being able to travel to-and-fro makes you a not free country?

[Billy Burnett]

10. Americans and US residents (non Cuban) are travel banned.

In Canada, no such travel ban on citizens/residents wanting to visit the evil island.

[joshcryer]

11. So are Cuban's.

They may not leave the island without permission. In the United States you may leave without permission if you so desire (all citizens are entitled to a passport barring criminal activity).

Except to go to Cuba. :(

(I think we can even go to North Korea now, Cuba is the only one we can't visit as far as I remember.)

[flamingdem]

12. Cuban can leave the island in many cases

if they have an invite from a sponsor, invite to work, if they have family in the USA if the USA let's them in, if they have family elsewhere.

I think they should all be able to leave less formally but since most are without a lot of resources countries are wary to give visas as well. If Cuba let them all leave guess how Florida would look? So I imagine this is an agreement that is not in the open.

[joshcryer]

13. Yes, but American's can leave without sponsers or invitations or family.

There is no process that says "you may leave" there is a process that says "you may not leave if you have done certain criminal activities."

[flamingdem]

14. Americans can travel if they can afford it and the majority cannot

and Cubans cannot travel unless they have things in place financially because they don't have resources and governments do not want the poor staying.

Did you know that many South Americans are denied entrance to the USA because they aren't rich enough? I know several people who were rejected even though they had fiances in the USA

[ChangoLoa]

16. No Latin Americans except Cubans are denied exit from their country.

The question is not whether the rich country accepts their entrance or doesn't.

[flamingdem]

18. Many Cubans leave and they will dispose of the white card, needed for exit soon nt

[ChangoLoa]

15. Do you really think the Cuban govt doesn't let them leave

because they're helping the US with its immigration policies?

"If Cuba let them all leave guess how Florida would look? So I imagine this is an agreement that is not in the open."

Not even the most pro-US governments in our region have reached that level of treason against their own people.

One could accuse the Cuban regime of several things but not that one. I strongly doubt they would favor the US against Cubans migrants.

Seria el colmo..

[flamingdem]

17. They do let them leave if they are sponsored or have family

the USA won't let them in, in the majority of cases.

I know people who went through this even when they are older they were denied permission.

They are going to address the white card issue so don't hyperventilate over it, it's part of the changes
to come under Raul and he stated as such.

[flamingdem]

8. Ha ha, good idea! I'd like to do that as well

I dabbled in the idea of real estate there before mostly out of curiosity and ended up feeling it's a crazy idea unless one is on the inside somehow and can get around the many restrictions and legal problems.

One funny note is that home owners have to show up to the local CDR meetings!

[joshcryer]

5. What do you think it should do to the construction industry there?

So far I believe the licenses are individual to individual? I don't think they can really combine them to do something like construction?

edit: I didn't want to comment on the hand carved door thing but, well, something doesn't sit right with me about that story. A foreigner owning a home in Cuba that has a hand carved door. It's like that one movie where that Yuppie moved to some African country and had a boat that costed more than the entire lifetime wage of a citizen there and said the "people there are poor because they like to listen to rap music rather than save their money and invest it" or something like that. I have to dig up that quote again, it really didn't sit well with me.

[bemildred]

7. The problem is not private property, the problem is unlimited accumulation of private property.

"Size does matter."

[flamingdem]

9. Wonder if this has to do with inevitable opening up and

the inevitable claims by expatriate Cubans for their properties.