With Raul Castro succeeding his brother Fidel Castro as the President of Cuba, Cubans were apprehensive whether this was a continuation of the old Castro regime or whether new changes will usher in. However, Raul Castro has proved that he is more liberal than his brother was as he lifted bans prohibiting Cubans from owning cell phones, staying in luxury hotels and buying DVD players, computers and modern kitchen appliances.
Moving away from the concept of creating an unrealistic egalitarian social structure, Raul Castro is more bent on providing comfort to the lives of the Cubans. In a latest effort to solve the housing problem of the country, Cubans will now get title to state-owned houses. The housing reform allows government employees to keep state-controlled houses after leaving their jobs.
The new decree possibly gives title deed of the houses to the occupants giving them the right to pass on the property to their children and relatives. Thousands of Cubans will benefit from this move, including army personnel, sugar workers, construction workers, teachers and doctors. However, Cuban laws do not allow the occupants to sell their homes to anyone other than the government. The government is also expected to do away with wage limits that will allow Cubans to earn more depending on their productive capacity. The average salary of the Cubans is $19.50 per month.
Despite being a hardcore Fidel Castro loyalist, Raul Castro is also called the ‘practical Castro’. According to Brian Latell, a senior researcher at the University of Miami’s Cuba Institution and author of the book After Castro, Raul Castro would try to adopt a China-type economic model. While continuing with many of the ideologies of the harsh political regime he would allow more private enterprise and loosen foreign investment rules.
Source: Washington Post
