HAVANA: Cuba will unify its two currencies, the Cuban peso and convertible peso, as of January 1, ending a unique system that has existed for nearly three decades, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Thursday. “We consider the conditions met to announce the start of this reform beginning on January 1, 2021, with a single exchange rate of 24 Cuban pesos for one dollar,” Diaz-Canel said on television, alongside Raul Castro, the country’s former president and Communist Party leader.
The reform, which had been announced years ago and repeatedly postponed, is intended to make the Cuban economy more accessible to foreign investors at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has cut off much-needed tourism dollars.
The move “will place the country in a better condition for needed transformations for updating our economic model,” he added, but warned it’s not “the magic solution to all problems.”
Diaz-Canel acknowledged currency reform was “one of the most complex tasks” facing the country, as it is buffeted by headwinds from a strengthening US embargo, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a global economic crisis. — AFP
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