Raul on housing

Raul Castro visited a site in Santiago where “petrocasas,” prefabricated homes donated by Venezuela, were being built, and spoke about “not prohibiting” people from building their own homes on approved sites. Granma’s coverage is here. An AFP story calls it “one of the latest reforms to back off the hardline communism of the past five decades,” which seems to go a little far. It’s not clear that any law or regulation is changing, or if Raul is sending a signal that autorities are going to ease up on inspections and regulatory enforcement. It may turn out to be an opportunity for remittances from Miami to help attack Cuba’s housing deficit.