Thousands of citizens in Cuba face a housing shortage. Buildings around the island are deteriorating and are in delapitated conditions. Juxtaposed with the lack of the material resources to build and repair homes, this poses a problem that Cubans face on a daily basis.
According to Cuba's National Bureau of Statistics and Information, in 2012, the average wage for workers was 466 pesos (CUP) per month or roughly a bit over $20 U.S. dollars. Purchasing power on the island nation is derived from the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), not from its national currency, the Cuban peso (CUP). Workers receive their pay in CUP. The exchange rate for Cubans is 1 CUP : 25 CUC.
Official data indicates a deficit of about 600,000 dwellings coupled with the fact that 8.5 out of 10 buildings are in need of repairs. The cost of building a house is anywhere between 6,400 to 8,500 in U.S. dollars (USD), taking into account exchange rates and fees. Other rehabilitations may be in the vecinity of 1,000 USD.
In 2010, Cuba's Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda (the National Housing Institute) began the concession of contruction licenses, allowed materials to be sold to the public, and extended credit and subsidies, thus enabling people to repair, maintain, and build homes on their own.
But beyond what the Cuban government has proposed as a solution, the people's reality shows another side of the problem. Yoandry Gutierrez, from Bayamo, told martinoticias.com, that although he started building his house in 1980, it is still unfinished and in need of repair.
In the state outlets, cement costs between 3.50 and 4.50 USD depending on the size of the bag, rebars sell for about 70 cents per meter and floor tiles are 30 cents per unit. The clay for plumbing installations can be between 2.25 to 2.70 USD each and aluminum windows at 27 USD each.
According to Anderlay Guerra, who is building his house in Guantanamo, a toilet bowl costs roughtly 5.75 USD. Materials such as kitchen tiles, faucets and sinks may be bought in Cuba's tienda de divisas, stores where the CUC is the only acceptable currency. Other building materials such as sand, must be purchased underground.
Both in Bayamo and Guantanamo sand is bought from people who, on their own, take it out of the rivers around the city and sell it at about 9 USD per meter.
Labor is a bit more difficult to calculate. "There is an agreement between the laborer and the customer" says Guerra. Still, from personal experience Guerra estimates that a small house with one room, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living room can cost more than 1,300 or 1,800 USD.
Another serious problem, as noted by Yoandry Gutierrez, is the widespread corruption that exists at the points of sale. Corruption is so rampant, Gutierrez says, that when building materials arrive at the retail outlets, few buyers have access to the goods. Administrators hoard the majority of materials for sale to resellers, who in turn charge a higher price at resale.
In Havana, attorney Yaremis Flores, who is also doing construction work on her home, said that although Cuban laws sanction the hoarding and sale of materials without permission, most people manufacture via black market means because they "have friends, or give gifts to be able to get the materials."
"We have to find a way to get it all: labor, transportation, materials. We pay a high price and for that reason it is impossible to calculate how much it costs to build a house. But I am sure much more than 8,000 dollars [CUC] would be needed to build a house," said the lawyer.
Cuba has said it is willing to make loans to its people, but Flores says she actually knows of few people in the capital who have benefited from them. Meanwhile, Gutierrez observed that in Bayamo, only military personel, leaders and some staff associated with the government are entitled to the loans.
Idolidia Darias
Idolidia Darias hails from Santa Clara, Cuba. A teacher by trade, she's worked with educational and cultural institutions in the province of Villa Clara. She has authored two books on the early years of confrontation between peasant guerrillas and the totalitarian regime in Escambray. Also a freelance journalist, she has been exiled in Miami since 2004. She also maintains a blog, in Spanish, La frontera transparente(The Transparent Frontier).
Follow her on Twitter: @idolidiadarias
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