Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly, President Raul Castro is reforming bits and pieces of Cuba’s dysfunctional economy. Thursday he took a larger than usual step. As of Nov. 10, he announced, Cubans will be allowed to buy and sell real estate.
Cubans now can own a house, but can’t sell it. They cannot, in other words, realize any gain from repairs or additions made to their property. From next Thursday on, a Cuban’s house will be a store of wealth. It is an enormous change.
Under Fidel, all land and buildings became the property of the state. As a consequence,…
