The Minister of Economy and Planning, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, explained this Thursday in the government program Mesa Redonda the details of the new system for managing, controlling, and allocating foreign currencies in Cuba.
The program was approved through the Decree-Law 113 of the Council of State and is regulated by resolutions from the ministry itself and the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC).
During his speech, Alonso Vázquez reiterated that they are not working to "dollarize the economy" and stated that the aim of the new system is to organize currency operations, improve oversight, and regulate the legal ways to access foreign currency within the country.
In this regard, the minister emphasized: "We do not want to access foreign currency at any cost."
What are the legitimate sources of foreign currency for the regime?
The minister detailed that the authorized methods for obtaining currency within the new system include:
- Income from exports.
- E-commerce with payments from abroad.
- Credits and external financing.
- Pre-financings of projects.
- Donations from abroad, "like those recently made for the victims of Hurricane Melissa," he exemplified.
- Financing from international organizations.
- Operations in the Special Development Zone of Mariel (ZEDM).
- Electronic payments among Cuban economic actors.
- Sales to commercial distributors in foreign currency.
- Centralized allocations by the government.
- Others defined by the competent authority. In this last instance, he indicated that it is a way to relax the rule. "The window is open because other sources may emerge," said Alonso Vázquez.
The minister asserted that Decree-Law 113 aims to increase foreign exchange earnings through exports and foreign investment, enhance the efficiency of management, control, and allocation of foreign currency in the national economy, regulate operations in foreign currency through accounts in freely convertible currency (MLC), and the Foreign Currency Access Capacity Assignments (ACAD).
They also aim to clarify the authorized internal transactions in foreign currencies and define legitimate access sources, something that apparently got out of hand during the previous minister's management period.
One of the topics of greatest interest to the population is to understand who the individuals affected by this new regulation in Cuba are. The minister assured that "the new system does not discriminate by type of property and includes both state and private entities, as well as natural persons."
The authorized actors are:
- Cuban legal entities: state companies, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (state and private), agricultural and non-agricultural cooperatives, and any formally constituted entity.
- Natural persons engaged in economic activities, such as self-employed workers, farmers, artists, and others.
- Foreign or mixed legal entities: foreign capital companies, international economic association contracts, diplomatic corps, and operators of the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM).
- Local Development Projects.
- International Cooperation Projects.
The new scheme allegedly seeks to clarify the flow of currency within the country and ensure controlled, efficient access to those resources. However, the proposal is reminiscent of the model promoted by former Minister Alejandro Gil Fernández, who was recently tried for corruption and espionage.
Gil advocated for a similar system of “centralized allocation” of currencies and denied that the regime's measures were promoting the "dollarization of the Cuban economy." In his speeches, he also recalled the government's purchase of rice boats and even asserted that the economic measures implemented by the regime were "painful" for its leaders, given the lack of support from the people.
Other important topics related to the new Decree-Law 113
The new legal framework aims to strengthen state control over the circulation of foreign currency, while also creating formal opportunities for the private sector and local actors, under the direct supervision of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Planning.
The Central Bank of Cuba will decide who can operate in foreign currency, mentioning among them state-owned enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), cooperatives, self-employed workers, farmers, artists, and foreign entities, but not citizens without economic activity.
These entities will be able to open foreign currency bank accounts to import, transfer funds, or pay for services, always with the authorization of the BCC.
The Ministry of Economy will implement the Currency Access Capacity Assignment (ACAD), which authorizes state-owned companies to purchase foreign currency with pesos, but with restrictions: it is non-transferable and expires in 30 days.
Exporting companies will be able to retain up to 80% of their income in hard currency, while the remainder will go to state funds.
The government assures that it seeks to "reorganize and make transparent" the economy and promote exports, although it acknowledges that partial dollarization is inevitable and that, for now, the average citizen will continue to have no direct access to foreign currency or immediate improvements in their purchasing power.
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