English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Vice President Marino Murillo celebrated on the Roundtable TV program on State TV that Cubans have already disposed of half of the 600 or 700 million CUC that are expected to be put out of circulation between January 1 and June 30 of this year. “We designed that the CUC was going to be alive … Continue reading “Two Ways to Get Rid of CUCs in Cuba: Line Up at the Bank or Give Tips”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 February 2021 — The Ceballos Agroindustrial Company, from Ciego de Ávila, one of the few jewels in the crown of the Cuban State, ended the first month of 2021 in the red. It was not planned: as the official newspaper Invasor notes, Vice President Marino Murillo, architect of the “Ordering Task,” had insisted that Ceballos would not be … Continue reading “Ceballos, One of the ‘Crown Jewels’ of the Cuban State, Registers Losses”
14ymedio, Havana, February 9, 2021 — “Are you calling about work in the public sector?” asks a voice on the other end of the phone at one of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security’s employment offices in Havana’s Cotorro district. “You have to bring your I.D. to look at the job openings we have,” explains … Continue reading “Cuba’s Private Sector Workers Seek Government Jobs to Get Them Through the Crisis”
14ymedio, Claudia Collazo, Havana, 25 January 2021 – From the moment the yellow car turned the corner, the neighbors knew that there was “a man with money” inside — the driver. But in the last year, the neighborhood taxi drivers have only accumulated debt. The payments to rent the car from the State, the fall … Continue reading “Cuban Taxi Drivers are Going Through a Bad Time”
14ymedio, Pedro Acosta, Havana, 21 January 2021 — Five years ago, Edelmira Rodríguez laid the first brick in her house. It was the beginning of a dream, of building her house with her own efforts, which at times turns into a nightmare. The shortages and the lack of liquidity mean that, to this day, the … Continue reading “Building Your Own Home in Cuba is an Obstacle Race”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, January 13, 2021 — Faced with complaints from citizens that they could not find places to spend their Cuban convertible pesos (CUC), the Cuban government announced that no fewer than 500 stores would accept the old currency. The list included the Caracol chain of stores, the Palmares Company, and the … Continue reading “Cuban Convertible Pesos Not Accepted, Even in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 December 2020 — The lines for everything have reached the affluent neighborhoods of the provincial capital of Sancti Spíritus. This photo was taken in the Los Olivos I neighborhood, where leaders and officials reside who had so far escaped risking their health in endless waits to get the basic products of life. … Continue reading “There Are Lines in Sancti Spiritus for Everything”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2020 — The severe shortage of medicines in Cuba will continue in 2021. For the next 12 months the country will have “a very tight basic set of medications” due to”financial tensions,” said Dr. Emilio Delgado Iznaga on the Roundtable TV program Tuesday. Delgado Iznaga is the Director of Medicines and Medical Technology of the Ministry … Continue reading “There Will be Fewer Basic Medications in Cuba in 2021 and They Will Cost More”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 December 2020 — Almost unknown when Miguel Díaz-Canel appointed him Minister of Economy and Planning of Cuba, he has become a key man on the island in a year in which the pandemic has finished sinking an economy that was already in a coma. Of the same generation as the president, Alejandro … Continue reading “14ymedio’s Faces of 2020: Alejandro Gil, Minister of Economy”
14ymedio, Havana, December 21, 2020 — What had been the most desired legal tender in Cuba for years is no longer wanted. The private sector has slammed the door on the Cuban convertible peso, the CUC, one week before January 1, the date the government has decreed that monetary unification will begin. Its death is being … Continue reading “Cuba’s Private Sector Phases Out Convertible Pesos before the Government”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 December 2020 — The increase in the electricity rates, which starts with the monetary unification on January 1, has reminded Cubans recently that a good alternative could be the installation of solar panels, which were promoted so much a few years ago by the Government. The reality is, however, that individuals cannot … Continue reading “Solar Energy is Cheaper but There Are No Panels for Individuals in Cuba”
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, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 14 September 2020 — It takes time and consumes energy to analyze the special tabloid Cuba and its economic and social challenge, prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, where the strategy is outlined “to boost the economy and face the global crisis caused by Covid- 19.” Reading the title is already … Continue reading “An Innocent Caricature”
14ymedio, Havana, 14 September 2020 — Yokes for oxen, horseshoes and wire for perimeter fences are some of the items for sale in the recently issued foreign currency sales catalog focused on the Cuban agricultural sector. The dollar has arrived in the fields but still in a limited way. The farmers can make purchases in … Continue reading “Machetes and Oxen Yokes are on Sale for Dollars but Tractors, Forget It”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist. 15 September 2020 — This morning (Tuesday) I had the opportunity to have a coffee with a colleague who works as director of a bank office in the Valencia capital. During the conversation, which revolved around important issues related to the future of the Spanish economy, it occurred to me to show … Continue reading “The Cuban State Bank, From Bad to Worse”
