English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, January 30, 2021 — January is coming to an end and we still know little about the effects of the government’s currency unification program. Recent official press coverage of a nation-wide tour by senior government officials has provided some loose, unrelated bits of information but not a comprehensive, accurate and competent … Continue reading “Currency Unification Status: One Month Out”
14ymedio, Jorge Hernández Fonseca, Havana, 27 December 2020 — The abolition of the Cuba’s dual currency system is, as we all know, essential to the development of a healthy economy on island. It is a reform the Communist nomenklatura has said it will adopt but which it is reluctant to undertake for fear of losing the … Continue reading “The Perfect Storm: San Isidro and Currency Unification”
14ymedio, Havana, December 10, 2020 — One of the most frequently asked questions in Cuba in recent years has finally been answered: currency unification will begin January 1, 2021, putting an end to the Cuban convertible peso* (CUC). The date was announced by President Miguel Díaz-Canel during a special broadcast on national television. It will be … Continue reading “January 1st is the Date Set for Currency Unification in Cuba”
Ed. Note: This article talks about Cuba’s two currencies, the Cuban peso and the Cuban convertible peso, and the potential ‘unification’ of the two currencies. The Cuban peso is also called “national money” and by the acronym “CUP.” The Cuban convertible peso (“CUC”) only came into use in 1994. It is not convertible outside the … Continue reading “The Dollar Strengthens In Cuba In Anticipation Of Currency Unification / Iván García”
The road to exit the crisis is clear; what is lacking is the political will to travel it. Among the partial reforms the government of Raul Castro announced was the enforcement of a timeframe for measures to eliminate the dual currency, implemented following the loss of Soviet subsidies. A look back at the topic helps … Continue reading “Currency Unification: Causes and Limits / Dimas Castellano”
HAVANA, Cuba, October, www.cubanet.org — The official announcement in the newspaper Granma this Tuesday, October 2, with its timeline for instituting the changes regarding currency unification, unleashed a torrent of rumors, which some say circulate faster that news from the Communist Party. But there wasn’t much to it. There was no change of any importance … Continue reading “Cuba Shaken by Rumors of Currency Unification / Orlando Freire Santana”
HAVANA, Cuba , December, www.cubanet.org – Monetary and exchange rate unification was addressed by Raúl Castro in his speech at the closing session of the National Assembly and by Vice President Marino Murillo Jorge, on December 21, according to the Cuban media. The interest of calming the population can be seen in the president’s assertion … Continue reading “Unification of Dual Currency, but the Economic Future Remains Uncertain / Miriam Leiva”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, August 24, 2023 — A few years ago, its windows displayed the exchange rates of various foreign currencies. Those signs have since been replaced with drawings of children’s faces welcoming customers to what had been the Cadeca currency exchange bureau on the corner of Obispo and Compostela streets in Old … Continue reading “Black Market Alternatives and a Nationwide Cash Shortage Force Cuba’s Currency Exchange Bureaus to Close”
14ymedio, Elias Amor Bravo, economist, November 1, 2021 — If there is one sector of the Cuban economy with no reason to be grateful for the changes the revolution brought about, it is agriculture. It employs almost one fifth of the nation’s workforce but contributes only 5% to GDP. Productivity is 80% below the economic average. … Continue reading “Hard-Currency Debit Cards: Much More than a Waiting List”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 May 2021 — Without warning, currency exchange bureaus at Cuban airports abruptly stopped selling hard currency on Thursday due to a shortage of hard cash. The news came in an announcement by Cadeca, the state-run currency exchange agency, on social media a few hours before the measure took effect. “In light of … Continue reading “Out of Dollars, the Cuban Government Suspends Hard Currency Exchange at Airports”
Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 5 February 2021 — It seems the subject of prices continues to be one of the main problems stemming from the recent currency unification reforms. A problem for which the the communist model, with its emphasis on economic planning and state intervention in the economy, is incapable of setting prices for the … Continue reading “Even with Price Rollbacks, Can the Regime Control Inflation Caused by Currency Reform?”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 January 2021 — “No one here to buy and sell?” asks the clerk of the notary’s office on 20 de Mayo Street, in Havana. Clients are waiting to make a will or formalize a power of attorney, but requests for procedures related to housing have disappeared from these offices since the monetary … Continue reading “Cuba’s Monetary Unification Slows the Sales of Homes”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Valencia, December 11, 2020 — O.K. So now we know. All the official news media outlets made the big announcement: there will be one single currency for the entire economy, the transition* will begin January 1, 2021, and we know what the official peso-to-dollar exchange rate will be. Postponement is not … Continue reading “An Unrealistic Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate as Cuba Unifies its Currency”
14ymedio, Havana, December 1, 2020 — The areas around several Havana stores have been under heavy guard by military and special forces troops since Monday when windows in one of the stores were smashed. Purchases at these stores, known locally as MLCs (the Spanish initials for “Freely Convertible Currency”), can only be made with foreign currency, … Continue reading “Soldiers Deployed to Guard Hard Currency Stores”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 October 2020 — The elimination of the country’s dual currency is delayed, according to the latest statements by Cuban leaders who are at the forefront of the so-called “regulatory task.” In the Roundtable TV program on Tuesday the issue was addressed but without giving details about the date on which the monetary … Continue reading “Cuba Will Subsidize Unprofitable State Companies After Monetary Unification”
