The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) denied this Thursday the rumors about the “supposed beginning of the monetary unification as of October 1, 2020.”
The BCC clarified that this information is not true, and confirmed that when that decision is adopted, it will be communicated to the people in a timely manner through official channels, indicated a statement from the entity published in Cubadebate.
ACLARA @BancoCentralCub RUMORES SOBRE EL SUPUESTO COMIENZO DE LA UNIFICACIÓN MONETARIA https://t.co/LHrOWzpKDK pic.twitter.com/R8z9bxS1IE
— Banco Central de Cuba (@BancoCentralCub) September 10, 2020
The note reiterates that the monetary unification will not affect the cash in the hands of the population, nor the balances of their accounts in banks.
In recent weeks, an audio has circulated on social networks, whose reliability is unknown, which reveals the imminent unification of the currencies that are officially circulating in Cuba: the Cuban peso (CUP) and the convertible peso (CUC).
The audio announces, among other changes, a possible salary increase for state workers, as well as for the Cuban business system, and anticipates variations in subsidies for the products in the food basket.
Rumors about the CUC going out of circulation have increased since the Cuban government started opening stores that sell products in dollars, through debit cards linked to bank accounts in foreign currency.
As part of the “Socioeconomic strategy to boost the economy and face the global crisis caused by COVID-19,” released this week, the government includes the monetary organization, which “is of transcendental importance and has a cross-cutting impact throughout the economy,” the document indicates.
Cuban Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil had affirmed last December that the monetary unification would not be done “against the clock” but “when the conditions are created.”
In an interview with the French press agency AFP, Gil acknowledged that “the future currency of the Cuban economy is the CUP” and that “steps have been taken in that direction,” but said that there is still no set date for this step, one of those that most concerns Cubans within the gradual reform process being carried out by the government.
Ministro de Economía: “la unificación monetaria se hará cuando estén creadas las condiciones”
The minister said “the population will not be affected and the conditions will be taken to minimize the effects,” and referred to the challenge the different exchange rates on the island represent for the unification process.
