English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 22 April 2023 — Cuba wants to extend to tourists who visit the Island the use of prepaid cards in Freely Convertible Currency (MLC), a Cuban virtual currency based on foreign currencies, directors of the official Casas de Cambio (Cadeca) reported this Friday. Those cards began to be marketed in 2021 … Continue reading “Cuba Seeks To Extend Prepaid Cards in Hard Currency for Tourism”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 23 April 2023 — Really, now nothing is understandable at all. Marrero says that the Cuban financial system “must play a more prominent role.” Maybe he didn’t mean to say that, or most likely he ignores what he’s saying. It seems unbelievable that the communists are now demanding that their … Continue reading “Will the Doors of the Cuban Financial System Be Opened to International Banking Like Tourism?”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, April 12, 2023 — None of the many people waiting in line outside a bank in Central Havana on Wednesday were there to deposit dollars, something they had been able to do since Tuesday thanks to a decree by the Central Bank of Cuba. On the contrary, they were suspicious … Continue reading “‘It Would Never Occur to Me to Put My Dollars in a Cuban Bank’”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 9 March 2023 — One day there appeared a significant number of ATMs around Tulipán Street, in the Havana neighborhood of Nuevo Vedado. The nearby market of the Youth Labor Army, which attracts not only local residents but also buyers from other municipalities due to its lower prices and the … Continue reading “Banco Central de Cuba Made in China”
14ymedio/EFE, Madrid, 16 February 2023 — On Wednesday, the Cuban government dismissed the president of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), Martha Wilson González, after four years in office. Her position will be occupied by Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, until now president of the state Exchange Houses (Cadeca). Without giving explanations about this movement, which takes … Continue reading “Cuban Government Fires the President of the Central Bank Without Explanations”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 29 December 2022 — To end this year, and together with several journalist colleagues, we prepared a list of the people and projects that had set the tone in Cuba during 2022 . The list of names was also a journey through the most important moments of these twelve months and … Continue reading “Could 2023 Be a Better Year for Cuba?”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 October 2022 — At least 30 people were arrested by the Cuban police for reselling basic necessities in the area known as Feria de 100th and Boyeros, in Havana. In the police procedure, carried out this Thursday, hundreds of cartons of eggs, chicken and picadillo packages were seized, the official media confirmed. … Continue reading “Cuban Police Arrest Egg and Chicken Vendors at the 100th and Boyeros Fair”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 20 October 2022 — This Wednesday, in the Cadeca on Belascoaín, in Central Havana, only 10 people were served. Taking into account that, according to the official provisions in force since last August 22, each individual can get a maximum of 100 dollars a day, the branch sold only 1,000 … Continue reading “More Than 4,000 People are on the Waiting List to Buy Dollars at a Currency Exchange in Havana”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 17 October 2022 — The official voice of the party has finally spoken. Like Don Rafael del Junco in that radio serial of the great Félix B. Caignet that paralyzed the country for a long time, the official state newspaper Granma talked about the foreign exchange market in order to … Continue reading “Cuba’s Exchange Market Crisis and State Intervention (Part I)”
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 1 October 2022 — The exchange rate in the informal market in Cuba is about to break the psychological barrier of 200 Cuban pesos (CUP) per dollar, and without expectations that the national currency will stop depreciating, according to economists consulted by EFE. This exchange rate is the highest in the Island’s recent … Continue reading “The Dollar Reaches 198 Pesos in the Informal Market, an Historic Record”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez /Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 22 September 2022 — “No one cheats on me,” a man grumbles in front of the Cadeca [currency exchange] on 23rd Street in Havana, this Tuesday. “I’m not a fool.” His face is swollen and red; he is sweating and drags a crutch with difficulty. Next to him, … Continue reading “‘Godfathers’ Jump the Lines at the Currency Exchanges in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 September 2022 — “You don’t need to be a guru in the sector to infer that the trigger of emigration via Nicaragua will lead to the dollar reaching 200 pesos in a few weeks.” The quote doesn’t come from any independent page dedicated to tracking the foreign exchange market or from any … Continue reading “The Official Cuban Press Predicts the Dollar Will Soon Reach 200 Pesos”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez and Juan Izquierdo, Havana, September 5, 2022 — The night begins to cool off over Santa Clara and, after having a bite to eat, the coleros [people standing in line for others, for pay] cross Vidal Park on their way to the currency exchange (Cadeca). The custom is new but the … Continue reading “Cubans Wait All Night at the Currency Exchange to Buy Dollars, Which Now Cost 150 pesos in the Informal Market”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 27 August 2022 — There is no doubt that the issue of the moment, at least for those of us who are dedicated to the analysis of the Cuban economy, is the official authorization of foreign exchange in a series of establishments and for a fixed amount only for natural … Continue reading “The Official Foreign Exchange Market: Failure is Already Coming”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 22 August 2022 — The Cuban government announced on Monday that it will start selling dollars to the population on August 23 at a rate of 123.60 Cuban pesos (CUP) per dollar. The 37 premises authorized to carry out this operation will report daily the number of people who can buy that day, … Continue reading “The Official Sale of Dollars in Cuba Begins and Each One Will Cost 123 Pesos”
