English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 17 May 2017 — In the midst of the morning hustle and bustle, residents of Havana are trying to reach their destinations on time, a challenge because of the inefficient public transport and the sky high prices charged by the private operators of fixed-route shared-ride taxi services. On Monday a new service, “Rutero taxis,” … Continue reading “A Taxi Cooperative Proposes To Lower Private Transport Prices”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 3 May 2017 — The guard looks at him and dismisses him as an undercover cop. “Are you coming to change dollars? I’ll pay you at 90 cents,” he tells the customer while turning his back on the security camera at the Currency Exchange (Cadeca). At the window, that same dollar is exchanged … Continue reading “Neither CUPs nor CUCs, It’s Bucks That Reign in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, Miriam Celaya, 11 January 2017 — It is not common, in the middle of all the gloom and the torrents of noteworthy dates that constitute the bulk of the official press, to find a journalistic work that brings to light — even partially — the obstacles that derive from one of the most … Continue reading “Naive Commentary about Two False Currencies / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 14 November 2016 – On Sunday, Donald Trump promised to repatriate up to three million undocumented immigrants who have had legal problems, to their countries of origin. This group includes 34,525 Cubans who have a deportation order for committing crimes and misdemeanors in the United States, along with thousands of others … Continue reading “Trump’s Promised Deportations Could Affect 35,000 Cubans in the US / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio, 29 April 2016 — The Central Bank of Cuba on Friday denied a possible reduction in the value of the Cuban convertible pesos. State financial institution reported that “the exchange rate remains at 24 Cuban pesos per one Cuban convertible peso for sales of CUC by the population at banks and Cadeca (currency exchanges).” For … Continue reading “Central Bank Denies Rumor About Devaluation Of Cuban Convertible Peso / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 19 March 2016 — Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, commenting on the latest measures of the Obama Administration to loosen the strings of the blockade-embargo, announced Thursday at a press conference that the Cuban government had decided to eliminate the 10% tax on the dollar, established in 2004. When it goes into … Continue reading “It is Never too Late to Set Things Right / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”
Somos+, Ricardo Romulo, 25 February 2016 — I take a daily stroll through the streets of Old Havana and Central Havana, both so flooded with tourists and Cubans that it seems as if the city might sink beneath my feet at any moment, so poor is the quality of the construction work going on everywhere … Continue reading “State Institutions Aren’t Owned by the People but by a Small Group / Somos+”
Ivan Garcia, 4 January 2016 — José Manual Cordoví keeps his savings in a rusty cookie tin. He runs a business forging windows, doors and iron in a suburb of low hovels in Arroyo Naranjo, a municipality 40 minutes by car from the heart of Havana. Cordoví has no relatives or friends who are close … Continue reading “The Dollar Gains Strength in Cuba / Ivan Garcia”
Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 26 October 2015 — Without a doubt the most complex challenge Raúl Castro’s regime has in the short-term is monetary unification. The use in the country of two national currencies for the last two and a half decades has ended up generating an inestimable distortion in the internal finance system, which by itself would … Continue reading “Monetary Unification in Cuba, an Unresolved Issue / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”
Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 31 May 2015 — On Thursday, May 29 Cuba was removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. It had been on the list since 1982 because of what Washington saw as the Cuban government’s decades-long history of harboring members of the Basque terrorist group ETA, Colombian FARC guerrillas and more than one … Continue reading “CUC vs. the Dollar: A Perpetual Tax? / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”
“If water and electricity have the same owner, why do they turn off my power when I need it most?” Cubanet.org, Gladys Linares, Havana, 28 April 2015 – The word “blackout” was eliminated by the Electric Company. Nevertheless, blackouts continue, managed, disguised, masked with terms like free channel, breakdown, maintenance, pole change, broken cables, etc., … Continue reading “No More Blackouts? / Cubanet, Gladys Linares”
Ivan Garcia, 6 April 2015 — Without being an expert in economic matters or the Wall Street currency market, Erasmo likes to trust his instincts. For fourteen years he has been engaged in buying and selling dollars and euros. Also convertible pesos. In the doorway of his house, within walking distance of a state-run currency exchange … Continue reading “Cuba: Money Is Better in Dollars / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 29 January 2015 — It was barely 10:00 am Wednesday, January 28th, and the currency exchange (CADECA) at Belascoaín had no national currency (CUP)*. One of the tellers explained that he had only several 50 peso bills and that was it until the “cash truck” arrived. Some customers, leaving because they could not transact business, … Continue reading “Early Farewell to the CUC / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”
14YMEDIO, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 19 September 2014 – At an artisan fair near the Malecon a seller offers unusual wallets. “Designed for a country with two currencies,” says the skilled merchant, while demonstrating their two separate compartments. Accustomed to living among convertible pesos (CUC) and Cuban pesos (CUP), we barely even notice any more the complications … Continue reading “Does Being Able to Pay with Either Currency Resolve the Problem? / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
Currency speculation has the island on the edge of mental collapse. Monday with which to pay wages is scarce. Peso equivalents to the dollar aren’t sold. Informal money changes want real dollars. Puerto Padre, Cuba — The State Currency Exchange (CADECA) resumed the sale of convertible pesos (CUC) today, after some interrupted for lack of … Continue reading “Now People Don’t Want the “Chavitos” (CUCs) / Alberto Mendez Castello”
