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Residents of the city of Guantánamo, in eastern Cuba, are refusing to pay the 23,000 pesos per household that it may cost to paint a multi-family building.
“With that, a typical working family cannot get by, much less me, as I study Medicine and live alone,” declared José Humberto Contantén to the local newspaper Venceremos.
The origin of the problem lies in Agreement 8641 of the Council of Ministers from July 2019, which stipulates that the costs of conservation actions for buildings must be fully covered by the beneficiaries. Additionally, with the implementation of the Tarea Ordenamiento, prices increased significantly.
"The liter of vinyl paint costs 126 pesos, while the oil paint for marquetry is priced at 500 pesos. As a result, painting a stairway from a large three-level panel costs 152,686 pesos, compared to the 10,000 pesos that were previously spent to paint an entire building," explained Mercedes Frómeta Fabré, Deputy Director of Investments at the Municipal Housing Directorate in Guantánamo.
Additionally, the labor costs are calculated by a computer system designed by the Ministry of Construction, which determines the cost per square meter of painting, as well as the setup and dismantling of scaffolding, among other expenses.
The state plan in the city of Guantánamo for this year was to paint five buildings out of the 785 that exist; however, just like in 2021, no one intends to cover such a cost.
Among the reasons that residents provide for covering the expenses, not only are there economic considerations, but often they want to paint the building facades without addressing other issues, such as humidity, broken windows, or the lack of eaves that would prevent rain from washing away the pigments.
"Without any guarantees that the paint is of good quality, or that it is properly applied and can withstand all the water that might fall on it, at least for a while; not even to think about it," asserted a neighbor.
The state-run media highlighted that this situation results in cities appearing less beautiful each day and buildings deteriorating. In the absence of concrete solutions, some possibilities are being considered, which involve bureaucracy and the decisions of officials.
"One million pesos for painting the exterior and common areas of five buildings is excessive, regardless of who is paying," concluded the article from the state-run press.
The problem in Guantánamo is economic, but in other provinces of Cuba, there are reports of dissatisfaction among the population due to the housing shortage and a lack of resources for initiating construction projects.
In Ciego de Ávila, a significant number of homes affected five years ago by Hurricane Irma remain unrepaired, with official figures reporting 1,300 total collapses.
As an alternative for housing construction, Pinar del Río announced the use of vault roofs to address the delays in building the homes planned by the government and the shortage of construction materials in Cuba.
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