Cuba and its Dual Currency
HAVANA TIMES, Jan 23 — One consequence of the Special Period crisis in Cuba was the creation of a dual currency.
There was always a national currency on the island. My parents told me that before the revolution, the Cuban “national” peso was equivalent in value to one US dollar.
This means that it was possible for the money earned by a Cuban worker to be exchanged directly into dollars, since the currencies were at parity.
Once the revolution was established, the conversion of pesos into dollars was eliminated. Many hotels created special shops where one could only buy goods with foreign currencies but not with Cuban pesos.
These small stores were aimed at tourists, but many of the products sold in these shops actually ended up in the hands of Cuban families.
Much later, in the 1980s, exchange centers for gold and other items of value were created where people could take their small family treasures and exchange them for checks in dollar amounts, which could then be used to acquire goods in hard-currency stores.
This was how many Cuban families were for the first time able to buy color TVs, VCRs or foreign clothes of better quality than those produced domestically.
Throughout this period the possession of dollars was illegal. The criminal code in Cuba at that time sanctioned the holding of dollars.
Because of the critical economic situation stemming from the collapse of the Eastern European socialist countries — which meant a loss of trade and assistance for the island — the Cuban elite decided to legalize the possession of dollars.
The main source of dollars for the population came from family members who lived outside of Cuba, in addition to the earnings generated by thousands of Cuban professionals who were (and still are) sent to other countries and paid part of their salary in dollars.
Initially, special stores stocked with better quality and more of a variety of goods accepted dollars as well as a new currency that was created: the CUC (the Cuban Convertible Peso). One CUC is roughly equivalent to one US dollar.
Pesos Equivalency To American Money - News
There was always a national currency on the island. My parents told me that before the revolution, the Cuban “national” peso was equivalent in value to one US dollar. This means that it was possible for the money earned by a Cuban worker to be
The currency gained 0.2 percent to 518.65 per US dollar at the close in Santiago, the strongest since Dec. 16. Chile's pension funds had $133 billion of assets under management at the end of November, the equivalent of 65 percent of the country's gross
modern world where online news travels around the globe, people from all over the world stretched out their virtual hands to help those in need in and around the Dumaguete area raising over 300000 Pesos or the equivalent of around $7000 US dollars.
Changes in foreign currency rates had no overall impact on sales, while the combined impact of a third quarter 2011 divestiture in Latin America and lost sales from exiting non-strategic products in conjunction with pulp and tissue restructuring
Tuesday saw Latin America's most traded currency drive to its top price in 30 days as a consequence of a strong debt auction in Spain where investors overlooked downgrades to credit ratings of Spain and eight additional euro zone nations, according to
Cuba and its Dual Currency - Havana Times.org
HAVANA TIMES, Jan 23 — One consequence of the Special Period crisis in Cuba was the creation of a dual currency.
There was always a national currency on the island. My parents told me that before the revolution, the Cuban “national” peso was equivalent in value to one US dollar.
This means that it was possible for the money earned by a Cuban worker to be exchanged directly into dollars, since the currencies were at parity.
Once the revolution was established, the conversion of pesos into dollars was eliminated. Many hotels created special shops where one could only buy goods with foreign currencies but not with Cuban pesos.
These small stores were aimed at tourists, but many of the products sold in these shops actually ended up in the hands of Cuban families.
Much later, in the 1980s, exchange centers for gold and other items of value were created where people could take their small family treasures and exchange them for checks in dollar amounts, which could then be used to acquire goods in hard-currency stores.
This was how many Cuban families were for the first time able to buy color TVs, VCRs or foreign clothes of better quality than those produced domestically.
Throughout this period the possession of dollars was illegal. The criminal code in Cuba at that time sanctioned the holding of dollars.
Because of the critical economic situation stemming from the collapse of the Eastern European socialist countries — which meant a loss of trade and assistance for the island — the Cuban elite decided to legalize the possession of dollars.
The main source of dollars for the population came from family members who lived outside of Cuba, in addition to the earnings generated by thousands of Cuban professionals who were (and still are) sent to other countries and paid part of their salary in dollars.
Initially, special stores stocked with better quality and more of a variety of goods accepted dollars as well as a new currency that was created: the CUC (the Cuban Convertible Peso). One CUC is roughly equivalent to one US dollar.