Forbidden To Buy Or Sell, Creative Cubans "Trade" Their Houses

The lady holds a sign that reads, "To trade: house in Central Havana. Needed: two apartments in Cerro." Starting very early she goes to a park in the city hoping to find someone interested in her offer of an exchange. She's spent three years in this search, because exchanging one property for two is extremely complicated in today's Cuba. She will have to find someone who wants to live together in a single dwelling, but they are the rare ones. In the majority of shared housing there are two generations, at least.

Forbidden to buy and sell houses, Cubans rely on informal exchange to look for a better location or something in a better condition. The bureaucratic machinery to manage these bartered trades is complicated, so many pay a "stimulus" to the bureaucrats at the Housing Institute to help the process move more quickly. There are specialists in finding each family what they need, called "exchangers," and it's an occupation at the edges of the law. Precisely because she has not contracted with one of these experienced negotiators, the lady with the sign has spent a lot of time waiting.

The illusion that Raul Castro would allow a real estate market has been vanishing after a year of the mandate. The Cuban leaders know that if they authorize it, citizens will redistribute themselves in a short time. Those who have convertible money will move to the best neighborhoods and those who earn only Cuban pesos will live on the periphery. The fact that there are not rich areas and poor areas is not because, as some believe, we've achieved social justice, but rather the inability to buy and sell houses. What they haven't been able to face is the people's creativity, which disguises the frequent acts of buying and selling as simple exchanges.

Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation.

Follow Yoani Sanchez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/yoanisanchez

Comments

[SigmundF]

Heavy Duty said:
....Is Ms Sanchez point that only in Cuba can you find houses that are in disrepair? What does an unpainted house have to do with the fact that real state speculation is not allowed in Cuba?....
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Comrade Heavy, Havana looks like a city after war, looks like those image of Chechen cities or Bosnia after war..... and I can sure you no war affected Cuba. The tyranny has left Havana and the most big cities in Cuba down and destroyed by decades of abandon. Take a look to this film "The art of creating ruins":

http://www.youtube.com/v/cF8EuQ2u4YM&hl=en&fs=1

If it is not enough for you then take a look to this photo collection where you can find hundred of pictures that illustrate the destruction after 50 years of communism:

http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e179/cacatuo_2008/

By the way dear comrade, Yoani is not looking for to serve any purpose, she is only a young woman that wants to show the world the situation in her land. Don't try to find dark and hidden goals in hers work.

[grabowcp]

I imagine the rundown house reflects the poor state of Cuban housing, which is generally in rundown condition. The money generating hotels are not a good representation of Cuba, although one can hope that such elements of capitalism will spread through Cuba soon enough.

And are you serious about the agricultural land? Should Ms. Sanchez really be jumping at the chance to till the fields in back breaking labor?

[LMPE]

Either that or homelessness.

[NikkiDove]

Is there any way to export John Galt? This is a textbook case of communism, and how it simply just does not work. This story could be a parable from Atlas Shrugged. But I wonder sort of kickback the Cuban government got for that land, nothing is free (as much as I wish it was, Mmm tasty free stuff, it's the Devil's doughnut I tell ya!). And I do agree with HeavyDuty one one point, the story has some real bias.

[HeavyDuty]

Sorry NikkiDove, no kickback for the government. Only conditions to qualify are demonstrable ability to make the land produce and clearing and preparing the land for its assigned purpose. In the last nine months, more than a million acres have been distributed to almost 90,000 new farmers who will join 250,000 others (Federation of Small Cuban Farmers) working under the same conditions (Coop's mostly, but also on their own) So far, 50% of the land is ready for production and 25% is already producing. Around 4,000 petitioners have been rejected. The government provides seeds suitable for the land, fertilizers and where applicable, stock of animals as resources become available. Tax on production is a share of the crop which goes to social purposes (schools, hospitals, old age homes, etc) and the rest can be sold in the free market. Those who are willing to work hard are making a bundle. Not for everybody, but that is the Cuban way.

[HeavyDuty]

Putting up a picture of a rundown house in Havana, serves what purpose? Wouldn't a picture of one of the many 3,4, and 5 star hotels throughout the island be a better example of progress? By the way, more hotel rooms than all the Caribbean countries combined.
Is Ms Sanchez point that only in Cuba can you find houses that are in disrepair? What does an unpainted house have to do with the fact that real state speculation is not allowed in Cuba?
I'm sure Ms. Sanchez has heard of the US real state bubble and its consequences for the American economy. Cuba's finantial resources are needed for the production of tangible goods, adequate housing for its workers, health care, education, food production, electricity etc, and the Cuban government has wisely decided not to use them for finantial speculation.
Nevertheless, Ms Sanchez has an opportunity to opt for one of many parcels of agricultural land recently distributed by the government (more than a million acres ) and begin producing some food! I, for one, would like to read her blog about it.

[SigmundF]

What are you talking about Heavy Duty??? 50% of the land ready for production??? 25% allready producing?? It seem you found this data in a Harry Potter book!!!!
Before Castro Cuba produced all food the people needed and a lot of food for exportation. Cuba was the first sugar producer in the world and the citric industry was the bigger in America. Today is USA the main supplier of food to Cuba because this huge agricultural industry vanished. Even sugar must be bought to USA!!! The citric production has fallen dramatically. Only 16% of the land is in independents farmers hand and other 25% in governmental owned farms, the rest of the land has been left to become "Manigua" (jungle). Now do you pretend convince us that the tyranny pretend to do something to increase the food production and resuscitate the industry that they killed and by this way make us forget 50 years of dictatorship and economical disaster!!! Do you believe us naive???