The Regime Brings Out the Heavy Artillery Against El Toque

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 29 August 2023 — It was just what was missing. Faced with the bewilderment caused by a fall in the value of the Cuban peso with respect to all currencies, which pushes the economy into an abyss, the regime takes out of the hat in the state press a theory … Continue reading “The Regime Brings Out the Heavy Artillery Against El Toque”

Cuba’s State Telecommunications Monopoly Etecsa Sabotages Internet to Force Customers to Pay for Long-Distance Calls

The monopoly’s revenues have plummeted from $807 million in 2020 to $128 million in 2022 14ymedio, Havana, 24 August 2023 — The poor quality of international telecommunication connections in Cuba is an ongoing source of customer frustration. What no one suspected until recently is that this is a deliberate strategy by the state telephone monopoly … Continue reading “Cuba’s State Telecommunications Monopoly Etecsa Sabotages Internet to Force Customers to Pay for Long-Distance Calls”

Self-Employed in Cuba Will Pay in Eight Times More to Social Security

14ymedio, Madrid, 10 August 2023 — The countdown to the increase in the contribution of self-employed and cooperative members has begun and adapts to the new prices that arrived as a result of the Ordering Task.* Between October and December, all such workers must participate in the special social security regime that was approved in … Continue reading “Self-Employed in Cuba Will Pay in Eight Times More to Social Security”

Construction of Homes in Villa Clara Has Been Stagnant for Two Years, Cuban Authorities Acknowledge

14ymedio, Havana, 8 August 2023 — Thirty-nine percent of the homes in Villa Clara are in poor condition, the official press admitted in a report on the living conditions of the province. The situation is going through a critical moment, since the territory’s capacity to build homes is at barely 45% of that planned, due … Continue reading “Construction of Homes in Villa Clara Has Been Stagnant for Two Years, Cuban Authorities Acknowledge”

Cuban Authorities Promise That It Will Be Possible To Pay in Cash, Except at Hotels

14ymedio, Madrid, 8 August 2023 — “An hour and a half of more talking about the same thing, pondering a decree that in itself is good but in the general context is useless.” This is the assessment of a reader of the official Cubadebate about the appearance of the president and the vice president of … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Promise That It Will Be Possible To Pay in Cash, Except at Hotels”

Suchel Promises Products in Pesos and Demands More Funding From the Cuban Government

14ymedio, Havana, 31 July 2023 — The directors of the joint venture Suchel Camacho will once again put products on the Cuban market in national currency, after almost four years of selling in freely convertible currency (MLC) and through virtual stores. At least the company promised this in an interview published this Monday by Cubadebate, … Continue reading “Suchel Promises Products in Pesos and Demands More Funding From the Cuban Government”

‘Bankification’ of the Economy and the Circulation of Counterfeit Banknotes: Another Blow to Credibility

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 1 August 2023 — Cuba’s state press reports that last Monday a meeting of the executive committee of the council of ministers of the regime was held, an organ that between meetings of the council of ministers is responsible for the decisions that are attributed to it. With the presence … Continue reading “‘Bankification’ of the Economy and the Circulation of Counterfeit Banknotes: Another Blow to Credibility”

The Economic Competition of the Territories, the Tip of the Dying Cuban Economy

14ymedio, Elias Amor Bravo, Economist, 6 August 2023 — A kind reader of the blog asks me why the Cuban economy is having so much difficulty getting ahead and improving the living conditions of the population. And my first warning is the mention of the embargo/blockade of the United States as a limiting factor to … Continue reading “The Economic Competition of the Territories, the Tip of the Dying Cuban Economy”

Lack of Cash Makes Cubans Desperate: ‘I’ve Gone Out in the Street to Fight for Pesos’

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, August 1, 2023 — The line at the Banco Metropolitano ATM on Marino y Conill street, in Nuevo Vedado, was abuzz this Tuesday. To the number of elderly people in the neighborhood, who were waiting to be able to extract their pension payment, were added neighbors who came from Calzada … Continue reading “Lack of Cash Makes Cubans Desperate: ‘I’ve Gone Out in the Street to Fight for Pesos’”

Giving Hotels and National Resources to Foreigners Will Not Pay Cuba’s Huge Debt

14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 15 July 2023 — The option of resolving Cuba’s external debt with the transfer of domestic resources to foreign companies, defended this Wednesday by the pro-government professor Juan Triana Cordoví, has been refuted by economist Pedro Monreal. Triana considers this option a way to refinance and “revitalize” socialism on the Island; for … Continue reading “Giving Hotels and National Resources to Foreigners Will Not Pay Cuba’s Huge Debt”

In Cuba People Go Hungry but Communist Experiments Continue

Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 6 July 2023 — The steps that Cuban communist leaders say they are taking to “strengthen local food systems in all municipalities of the country” can give much worse results. This blog has previously warned that transferring production, which should be attended to at the national level, to the territories is … Continue reading “In Cuba People Go Hungry but Communist Experiments Continue”

The Endless Ordeal of Retirees in Matanzas, Cuba, to Collect their Pensions

14ymedio, Havana, 17 May 2023 — The lack of workers is once again in the news on the Island. On this occasion, the protagonist is the shortage of professionals in the Post Offices, causing serious problems in the collection of pensions, according to the Matanzas newspaper Girón on Tuesday. The official media initially attributes the … Continue reading “The Endless Ordeal of Retirees in Matanzas, Cuba, to Collect their Pensions”

Gaviota and the Chinese Bases: Distracting Attention From the Serious Economic Situation? No, Thanks

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 13 June 2023 — The Castro regime has been quick to deny two pieces of information circulating in the media and on social networks. This is unusual. The hierarchy that directs the country rarely finds reasons to lower itself to the level of media confrontation, since it exercises absolute control over … Continue reading “Gaviota and the Chinese Bases: Distracting Attention From the Serious Economic Situation? No, Thanks”

With an Exchange Rate of 200 CUP per Dollar, the Peso Reaches a New All-Time Low

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 13 June 2023 — The dollar once again reaches 200 Cuban pesos (CUP), a situation that the Island had already experienced in October 2022. This time, according to analysts, it has different characteristics. If the previous time the dizzying rise was the result of speculation, this time it’s because of the “incomplete recovery … Continue reading “With an Exchange Rate of 200 CUP per Dollar, the Peso Reaches a New All-Time Low”

Cuban Police Dismantle a Clandestine Tobacco Factory in Placetas

14ymedio, Havana, 8 June 2023 — The Facebook page “Fuerza del Pueblo,” an account linked to the Ministry of the Interior, details a police operation in the factory known as Chinchal de Tabaco, in the town of Báez, where agents seized several bags of material, molds and tools for the preparation of cigarettes. In addition, … Continue reading “Cuban Police Dismantle a Clandestine Tobacco Factory in Placetas”