Parole and the Nietos Law collapse notarial services in Sancti Spíritus

The migratory wave that Cuba is experiencing, with the departure from the country of at least half a million people who arrived in the United States in the last two years, has taken its toll on the notarial services of Holy Spirit, completely collapsed by procedures related to the Parole Program (special visa to enter the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons) and with Spanish nationality through the Grandchildren Law. Both are "the fundamental reason why requests for documents have skyrocketed, probably like never before," according to the report. official press.

The papers most requested by citizens are special powers, authorizations for minors to travel or reside abroad; succession procedures, wills and sales of assets. However, to these tasks we must add that notaries "participate in the constitution of MSMEs, work with ONAT documentation and assist the lawyers of collective law firms for various procedures."

The demand of the population is three times greater than the capacity of the province's notarial services, which maintain the same staff, sometimes incomplete, from five years ago. In fact, the official newspaper assures that there are a dozen vacant positions, despite the fact that the volume of work reached 3 million procedures in 2023 and so far in 2024 they have already completed 7,200. These numbers multiply by three the usual numbers for these offices, adds the local newspaper Escambray, which clarifies that this is not just a problem in this province but one that extends throughout the country.

Although in Sancti Spíritus an attempt was made to replace the queue with prior appointment through the Ticket application, the expected results were not achieved. As a consequence, the service has slowed down and procedures have become longer. To the lack of personnel we must add blackouts, shortages of materials or the existence of obsolete computer equipment, connectivity problems and even the fact that there are no sheets to print the documentation requested by clients.

To this we should also add, according to Escambray, the lack of professionalism of the notaries. "On certain occasions, some of them leave it aside (professional quality) when they do not guide or advise clients correctly, when they work on a whim and slowly, when they do not respect the order of a certain queue and prioritize someone they know."

An Internet user, Martha León, attests to this, who left a comment on the news shared on Facebook by the official newspaper: "The Civil Registry has now become a who gives more. If you give bills, you get everything immediately. Now everything is a lack of respect. By God, Cuba has become the law of the jungle of the strongest."

To access one of the 17 notaries in Sancti Spíritus, you must enter the Ticket platform or appear in person at the offices. Only in cases in which the procedures are not "so complex" can the interested parties carry them out at the moment. Payments are made through a QR and the elderly, pregnant women and vulnerable people have priority when accessing the offices.