Freely convertible currency breaks the barrier of 300 Cuban pesos
HAVANA, May 4 After the strong rise in currencies in recent days, this Saturday the freely convertible currency (MLC) reached the barrier of 300 Cuban pesos (CUP) in the informal market of Cuba.Following the behavior of previous occasions, the MLC was once again dragged by the increases experienced by European and American currencies, reaching 300 CUP, according to the informal rate prepared by the independent media ElTOQUE based on the analysis of purchase offers and selling on social networks.
Euro and Dollar currently maintain the price reached this Friday, of 390 and 385 CUP respectively, although alternative exchange rates managed by other platforms detect a rebound in the European currency, which could reach a price of around 392 CUP in the next hours.
Exchange rate today 05/04/2024 – 5:53am in Cuba:
Exchange rate from USD to CUP according to elTOQUE: 385 CUP
Euro exchange rate EUR to CUP according to elTOQUE: 390 CUP
Exchange rate from MLC to CUP according to TOQUE: 300 CUP
Alternative exchange rate from other platforms:
Dollar (USD) exchange rate: Buy 384 CUP, Sell 385 CUP
Euro (EUR) exchange rate: Buy 391 CUP, Sell 392 CUP
MLC exchange rate: Buy 295 CUP, Sell 299 CUP
Inflation remains uncontrolled in Cuba, leaving a bleak panorama in which Cubans lose their purchasing power daily.
In this scenario, the Cuban regime seems to find itself in a dead end, unable to offer economic solutions to the problem and choosing to blame the devaluation of the CUP on the independent media, especially ElTOQUE.
At the end of January, the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel, through his then Minister of Economy and Planning, the deposed Alejandro Gil Fernández, announced that it was prepared for the intervention of the informal currency market in February.
Although no details of the interventionist plan were offered, the Presidency of Cuba indicated that the government would advance “in the presentation of proposals to resize the exchange market, the intervention of the informal sector and the control of the exchange rate in the country.”
In this sense, they indicated that the actions to be developed included “the determination of the exchange rate and the formation of prices.” However, after the dismissal of Gil Fernández, the issue of intervention in the informal currency market has ghostly appearances in official rhetoric, without taking shape in reality.
According to Cuban economist Rafaela Cruz, the MLC no longer fulfills its function of collecting dollars for which the freely convertible currency was conceived.
In an article published in Diario de Cuba, the expert predicts that the Cuban regime watches helplessly as the MLC has become an unexpected escape for the private sector.
“Given the possibility of transferring MLC between individuals, large amounts of these have been accumulated in private agents who today act as financial intermediaries receiving foreign currency abroad and delivering MLC in Cuba, in operations that totally exclude state banks,” observed Cruz. in his analysis.
Therefore, the economist concluded that the days of the MLC’s life seem numbered.
“The question is not if Castroism is going to disappear, but when.”
