Private Businesses in Miramar, Havana
HAVANA TIMES – In the Miramar neighborhood, in Havana’s Playa municipality where I live, private businesses have multiplied over the past few years. They range from cafés and restaurants to small shops selling groceries, toiletries, and other goods. There are also barber shops, artisan collectives, bakeries, gift shops, beauty salons, pizzerias, auto repair shops, bookstores, and spas.
As for prices, I should point out that these businesses are not affordable for working people who live on a salary or pension and do not receive remittances from abroad. They can barely afford to buy anything in these establishments, take advantage of their services, or much less eat there. Only the pizzerias tend to attract larger numbers of customers.
I would also like to mention that one of these businesses is located on land near the banks of the river where it meets the sea, on 3rd Street between C and D, very close to where I live. This is completely illegal, since these areas are not supposed to be used in this way. However, I imagine that someone with influence granted permission. The business sells groceries and prepared food, has installed wooden furniture, and even includes a pool table. One of the photos shows the prices.
Many neighbors have complained about the nighttime noise and the loud reggaeton music that continues well into the night. But nothing has changed.
These small businesses were authorized beginning in 2021, after the COVID pandemic and the monetary reform. Their owners have legal status as business entities. Some have gone bankrupt, while new ones have emerged.
Shameful events took place after 1959, following the triumph of the Revolution, when private owners were stripped of their property—cafés, grocery stores, hotels, homes, land, and more. These properties became state-owned, placing them under a centralized system that has done nothing but work against the country’s economy.
Today, with the new economic measures, the government is attempting to change the situation by inviting Cubans living abroad to invest in businesses in their homeland, as well as encouraging foreign entrepreneurs to do the same.
Here are some images of these businesses.
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Doesn’t this article put these businesses at risk ??