sale of property
PETER ORSI Associated Press
12:02 p.m. EDT, May 7, 2011
HAVANA (AP) — Cubans will soon get their first look at the details of
highly anticipated economic changes that were approved at last month's
Communist Party Congress, official news media said Saturday.
An announcement in party newspaper Granma said copies of the document
will be available for 1 peso ($0.04) starting Monday in newsstands and
post offices. A 48-page explanation of the guidelines and what changes
have been made from last year's draft proposal will also go on sale, for
2 pesos ($0.08).
Billed by President Raul Castro as a way to fix Cuba's struggling
economy, the changes amount to reforms that would apparently reduce the
size of government while making it easier for people to buy and sell
private property, run small businesses and get credit to finance those
operations. Castro has insisted that the changes are an update to the
island's socialist system, not an embrace of free-market principles.
Video: Brides go wild at Filene's wedding gown sale. Watch the frenzy
The Communist Party unanimously gave its seal of approval to the new
guidelines April 18 at a historic summit, but there had been no word on
what changes were made to the original proposal or when the final
version would be released.
While Cubans have generally expressed optimism about the changes,
economists said it was impossible to know their true impact until the
specific ground rules were known.
Many islanders are eager for a relaxation of the rules on home and car
sales, which have been mostly frozen since soon after the 1959
revolution. Others are nervous about proposals for mass layoffs of
government workers and the gradual phasing out of the monthly ration
book, which provides them with a basic, highly subsidized food basket.
The Communist Party does not have lawmaking authority, but parliament is
expected to take up the guidelines and enact them into law.
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