Cubans Living Abroad Assured They Won't Lose Property Rights

The Cuban government recently reaffirmed on Cuban Television that Cubans living abroad will not lose their properties on the island. “It was decided to insert an article, making it clear that Cuban citizens residing abroad, in accordance with Article 58 of the Constitution of the Republic, have the right to use, enjoy, and freely dispose of their properties within the national territory as the law dictates,” stated José Luis Toledo Santander, president of the Commission of Legal and Constitutional Affairs of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP), during last Thursday's Mesa Redonda.

According to Toledo Santander, this issue has caused significant concern among Cubans and “has been heavily manipulated online,” he asserted. The decision, although not fully explained on the television program, follows closed-door meetings with deputies. The official mentioned that these discussions “also motivated a new version of the document, which is now being reprinted and will be discussed further with the deputies.”

However, beyond the speculation, the ambiguous wording of some topics in the proposed law, which will be presented on July 17 at the ANPP session, has raised doubts among Cubans. Toledo Santander confirmed that “in the new version now submitted for the deputies' knowledge and decision during the session period, one of the carefully and precisely worked topics, because the deputies were interested, was the issue of effective residency.”

Clarifications on Residency and Property Rights

The project states that “this migratory condition is acquired when a person has lived permanently in the country for a determined period, allowing them to assume that condition,” mentioned the parliamentarian. In this regard, Toledo Santander noted that “the law will be clear in specifying that a person may not live the definitive established times but has lived sporadically in the country at different moments, accumulating permanence over the established natural year.” This means that the duration of residency on the island should be cumulative rather than uninterrupted.

Additionally, he pointed out that there are other ways to demonstrate ties to the country, such as maintaining a domicile or family in the island, fulfilling tax obligations in Cuba, being linked to various national organizations, or having a bank account. “This also allows the person to request effective residency in the country,” with the condition that “if the person maintains the conditions under which it was granted, no further changes are necessary, and it remains unaltered,” he mentioned on the show, where Homero Acosta Álvarez, secretary of the ANPP and the Council of State, was also present.

Eloy Viera Cañive, a lawyer analyzing this intervention on the independent media ElToque, detailed about this last point that “Toledo's clarification would make no sense unless they consider not only the permanence in the country as an essential requirement for maintaining the effective resident status.” Viera Cañive urged to consider that the evidence of the “new changes” is only reflected in Toledo Santander's statements, as the new version of the project has not been published on the official ANPP website.

“In any case—and as is common—Toledo's statements are imprecise. However, they clearly demonstrate how the Cuban regime understands transparency and accountability,” clarified the director of ElToque Jurídico.