CUBA legalises the sale of real estate and cars

[El Presidente]

CUBA yesterday legalised the sale of real estate and cars and expanded the ranks of private co-operatives that could serve as engines for the sputtering economy, among other major changes.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world...o-1226053569770

The Communist Party's newly released economic guidelines also said the government would study the possibility of letting Cubans travel abroad as tourists, a long-time promise of Cuba's leaders that has yet to be fulfilled.

But the guidelines gave few specifics, meaning islanders will have to wait to see the fine print when the strategy is eventually translated into law by Cuba's National Assembly. The guidelines also established a commission charged with implementing the changes.

The economic overhaul was approved unanimously last month at a landmark Communist Party Congress, but the final document was not released until yesterday.

The 313-point guidelines said the state ought to "establish the buying and selling of homes" for Cuban citizens.

The guidelines also called for legalising the sale of cars and other vehicles. They make clear that the state is not yet in a position to sell most Cubans new cars through state-owned businesses. Previously, only cars built before the revolution could be sold, meaning thousands of Soviet-made Ladas and Moscoviches, as well as tiny Polskis and other cars used in the former Eastern bloc, were frozen in the hands of their owners.AP