After More than Two Decades, Cuba May End Dual Currency System.
| Autor | Vazquez, Daniel |
The parallel circulation of two currencies in Cuba seems to have its days numbered, according to announcements by President Raul Castro's administration and the government-controlled press, which is advocating for better performance in businesses and a more competitive national economy. But monetary reform is complex; it has been postponed for years in Cuba, and it is feared that the changes could affect vulnerable sectors of society (NotiCen, Sept. 25, 2014),
The plan to eliminate the dual currency system is part of the reforms that Castro launched after he took the presidency in 2008 (NotiCen, July 31, 2008). The system is a legacy of the crisis Cuba suffered beginning in 1991, caused by the demise of the Eastern Europe communist bloc and the dissolution of the former Soviet Union. Euphemistically called the "special period" by the government, the crisis caused the devaluation of the historical Cuban peso (CUP) and led to the emergence of the convertible peso (CUC) (NotiCen, May 5, 2005).
A Communist Party objective
The end of monetary duality was an objective approved by the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in April 2011, and was reaffirmed by the government in 2013. Last December, Castro spoke about it to the national parliament, saying, "I must admit that this matter has taken us too much time, and we cannot delay its solution any longer."
Signs that monetary unification might finally take place have appeared since earlier this year. US Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, visited Havana in February and commented that Cuban officials repeatedly stated that 2018 would be the year for monetary reform.
Likewise, Stefano Manservisi, the European Commission's director-general for International Cooperation and Development, said in February that he has offered the Cuban government technical assistance in implementing the monetary transition. The European Union (EU) began a new stage of relations with Cuba with the enactment of a political dialogue and cooperation agreement signed in 2016.
References to monetary reform have increased in the Cuban press, as if to get everyone ready for the changes to come, although the most important change on the horizon is Castro's projected retirement on April 19th, when he is scheduled to leave his post as president and the Parliament will approve his successor. Castro will remain in his position as first secretary of the PCC.
An allegory of the crisis
The CUC, basically equal in value...
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