The delivery of two modular homes built from shipping containers in Havana, attended by Miguel Díaz-Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, sparked a wave of criticism and sarcasm on social media this weekend, where Cubans labeled the event as a "media show" and cheap propaganda in the face of a housing crisis that exceeds a deficit of 806,000 homes.
The ceremony, held last Saturday at the Colón People's Council in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, was widely covered by official media and included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a tour of the properties. The beneficiaries were two young single mothers in a precarious housing situation.
The comment that best summarizes the general sentiment was left by a user on the post from the Presidency of Cuba: "What a media show, a container house for a video while Cuba is in misery with poor housing."
The most frequently expressed concern was the heat generated by the metal structures in the Cuban tropical climate. "Those containers in the summer... people go in raw and come out ready to eat... true frying pans for people," wrote a user. Others nicknamed them "modular saunas," "solar toasters," "microwaves," and "human fryers."
Several commentators also questioned the energy viability of the homes: “These houses are very popular in cold climates, but they are made of metal. Will the owners be able to secure electricity to run air conditioning during the hot and humid summer months? This sounds like another propaganda project that doesn’t solve any problems.”
Another axis of criticism was the symbolic magnitude of the act compared to the real dimension of the problem. "Two, but weren’t they supposed to deliver 1.7 homes DAILY per municipality?" a user quipped, recalling unfulfilled promises from the regime. By April 2026, the program had delivered only 133 units nationwide.
The difference in quality between the houses inaugurated in Havana —with presidential presence— and those delivered in other provinces also generated outrage. "These houses don't resemble those given in Guantánamo, could it be because the president visited?", asked a commentator. Residents in El Cerro and Guantánamo have reported leaks, electrical faults, and defective plumbing in the units already delivered.
Some pointed out the contradiction of resorting to containers while there are abandoned facilities: "With so many establishments that the government has allowed to decay in Guanabo, Tarará, and other locations around and in Havana, presenting the worst solution is a CLEAR REFLECTION THAT THE PEOPLE DO NOT MATTER TO THEM."
A more extensive comment summarized the underlying argument: “This is not a 'progress', it's a quick fix. In Cuba, the housing issue is structural: old buildings collapsing due to lack of maintenance, families living in overcrowded conditions, multiple generations under one roof, years of waiting to get a home. And what's the solution they propose? Containers. In a tropical climate, that's an oven.”
The backdrop is devastating: 35% of the Cuban housing stock is in poor or fair technical condition, in Havana about 1,000 buildings collapse each year, and in 2024 only 7,427 homes were built with cement production at 10% of its capacity. In November 2025, the Cuban government itself acknowledged the failure of its housing program, unable to meet the goal of 50,000 units per year that has been promised since 2018.
Prime Minister Marrero Cruz acknowledged at the event that the program "is not progressing as fast as desired," although he defended the model: "a container house doesn't have to be ugly; it can be nice, it’s humble, it’s small, but it's dignified." The response on social media was emphatic: "Symbolism and cheap propaganda; there are thousands who need homes."
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