English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 27 November 2022 — Back in Havana, the state press has started a propaganda campaign aimed at exalting the results of a trip, which leave much to be desired. The first to speak has been exactly the one who should be silent, taking into account that little or nothing has … Continue reading “China and Cuba: a Lot of Noise, Little Action”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 November 2022 — In China, the last station of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s panhandling tour, the Cuban delegation signed a dozen agreements and appealed to “friendship among the peoples” to extend Havana’s debt terms with Beijing and get an “emergency donation” of about one hundred million dollars. The negotiations focussed on biotechnology … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Gets a Donation From China of 100 Million Dollars and More Cybersecurity”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 October 2022 — Beginning this Tuesday, Cuba will grant tourist visas for 90 days, instead of the 30 days in effect before. The announcement was made this Sunday on Twitter by the Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, and now is on official pages. In his tweet, García Granda also said … Continue reading “Cuba Extends Tourism Visas for 90 Days in an Attempt to Improve Results in this Sector”
14ymedio, Madrid, 28 October 2022 — The Cuban Government has surrendered to the evidence and now reduces the tourism forecast to no more and no less than 790,000 more travelers this year. At the beginning of the year, the authorities had projected the arrival of 2.5 million foreign visitors, and, until a few days ago, … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Acknowledges its Failure to Revive Tourism”
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/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”
14ymedio, Elias Amor Bravo, Economist, 6 August 2022 — The regime’s state press was surprised to see that the first day of the new measure of foreign exchange buying by the State “passed calmly and as planned.” What did they think was going to happen? Perhaps they had imagined one of those shows that the … Continue reading “There Was No Show on the First Day of Cuba’s New Exchange Rate Initiative”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 4 August 2022 — I took to the streets of Havana with ten dollars in my pocket. A sweaty, fought-for bill, a miniature fortune in the country of bank surprises. I wasn’t forgetting the words of the Minister of Economy, serene as an executioner between the president of the Central … Continue reading “Ten Dollars and Five Banks Later: a Cuban’s Dilemma in Selling His Foreign Currency”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo Economist, 29 June 2022 — They hurried. Said and done. The words of Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil Fernandez still resonated announcing to the National Assembly the 75 measures to “revitalize the economy” and the resolutions of the Ministry of Finance and Prices (MFP) and the General Customs of the … Continue reading “Someone is in a Hurry With the Rules for Non-commercial Imports by Natural Persons”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 16 July 2022 — Cuba and Mexico closed a bilateral business forum this Friday in Havana with the signing of 12 agreements, after the business rounds held in the last two days in Havana with the main objective of expanding Mexico’s investments on the island. The more than 80 Mexican and … Continue reading “Cuba and Mexico Seal Business Forum With the Signing of 12 Agreements”
14ymedio, Natalia, López, Moya, Havana, 4July 2022 — The price of foreign currencies in Cuba is unstoppably taking flight again after the decline they experienced at the end of May. Among them, the euro once again outperforms the dollar by far. A euro is worth around 123 pesos in the informal market this Monday, compared to the 110 … Continue reading “The Euro Becomes the Most Sought-After Currency in Cuba and Reaches 123 Pesos”
Elías Amor Bravo, Economist. 16 July 2022 — Another character from the Party, who has decided to enter directly into economic affairs, is Joel Queipo Ruiz, identified in the State newspaper Granma as a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Economic-Productive Department, a name that sounds … Continue reading “Are Any Changes Coming in the Regime’s Economic Area?”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 June 2022 — The number of people evacuated in Matanzas due to the rains of recent days continues to grow. This Tuesday, the number already amounted to 5,171 in this province alone. Olga Lidia Ramírez González, secretary of the Provincial Government Protection Commission, told the official press that 4,953 people have been … Continue reading “Lack of Drainage Maintenance Has Aggravated Floods in Matanzas, Cuba”
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 31 May 2022 — The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) denied on Tuesday that it is selling, to individuals, U.S. dollars and freely convertible currency (MLC, the Cuban virtual currency backed by hard currencies). According to the official newspaper Granma, the monetary authority has thus responded to rumors that have arisen after an … Continue reading “Cuba’s Central Bank Denies That it is Selling US Dollars”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 May 2022 — The formation of Tropical Storm Alex has already left about 300 buildings collapsed with the main impact in Havana, where 148 of these were reported as of Saturday night, according to the State newspaper Granma. At least 53 building collapses have also occurred in Pinar del Río, 32 in … Continue reading “Heavy Rains Leave Around 300 Buildings Collapsed in Western Cuba”
