The Housing Problem: Exclusionary Practices and Socialist Revisionism in Turn-of-the-Century Havana

Abstract

The housing problem in Havana -both the shortage and low quality of the existing housing stock-began with the independence of the island and ensuing sequence of republican regimes. During the first decades of the 20th century, the exploitation of tenants by landlords and increasingly segregated city layout, prompted habaneros affected by the housing crisis to claim the home to be a right and not a commodity. With the triumph of the revolution in 1959, the state progressively expanded Cuban homeownership, eliminated speculative real estate practices, constructed new housing units, and did away with the rentista class. Still, revolutionary housing reforms were lacking in that an insufficient and substandard housing stock persisted, housing mobility was impossible, and self-construction significantly superseded state initiatives. Later, towards the end of the 1980’s, economic, political, and social turmoil caused by the fall of the Soviet Union, led to the stalling of all governmental housing projects and the introduction of liberal legal reforms. The relaxation of economic regulations with the Special Period in the 90’s led to increased individual flexibility and a simultaneous lack of state accountability. This in turn amplified socioeconomic inequalities and urban overcrowding, while stimulating the reemergence of a middle class tied to the tourism industry. Specifically, habaneros in the enterprise of home rentals-the casa particular system-have been collectively reshaping the rhetoric of socialism by deeming their capitalist ventures synchronous to socialist principles. Yet, a critical part of understanding housing in post-Special Period Havana is taking into account the fact that habaneros are not a single entity, and thus, they experience distinct realities. In this investigation, I offer a cultural and legal history of how Havana’s urban housing has changed the cityscape and affected its residents from the republican era in the 1920’s until present times. By combining extensive literature research and information collected through interviews conducted with owners of casas particulares in Havana, I have been able to reach a deeper understanding of both general trends and individual differences in regards to habaneros’ experiences with housing. The purpose of this study is to complicate and contextualize the housing narrative of progressive inclusivity and advancement, especially in the current post-Special Period state. Housing reform did and continues to occur parallel to the persistent marginalization and exclusion of the poorest, darkest, and most isolated habaneros. Moreover, connecting housing to the larger political, social, and economic framework effectively pushes back against the notion that housing exists in a vacuum, and suggests that it has been an ongoing concern for most habaneros.