The popular actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television and theater director Ulises Toirac is skeptical about the decline of the dollar and euro in relation to the exchange rate for Cuban pesos, following the announcement by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero that a variable exchange rate will be implemented in 2025 (the regime referred to this as a floating rate).

Toirac is struck by the fact that while the euro and the dollar are dropping, the prices of products and services are rising. In his opinion, "the state cannot inject this rate indefinitely, and then the 'catastrophe' happens. I am not Noscagamus... just a store owner," he wrote on his Facebook profile.

For Toirac, the consequences of this 'new' government measure will likely lead to more of the same, though he puts it differently. "Green and with a point... " (soursop), as the saying goes in Cuba.

Following Marrero's announcement during the last session of Parliament in December 2024, the Cuban peso saw a slight appreciation in the Informal Market Representative Rate (IMRR), which is published daily by elTOQUE and reported by CiberCuba. According to this currency tracking, the dollar has decreased from 325 pesos, which it was at between December 14 and 17, to 300 pesos as of December 30.

According to experts, the decrease may be attributed to the increasing number of Cubans traveling to the Island to spend the New Year there, which injects more foreign currency into circulation. With the same level of demand and an increase in supply, prices naturally drop, in accordance with market laws.

However, the measure may also be due to a state action, as Ulises Toirac suggests, which leads one to think that this action cannot be indefinite, and once it stops, the exchange rate will skyrocket.

The comedian's analysis was quickly filled with comments, including one from Gabriel Jarquin Velázquez, who regrets that the regime continues to assert that "the problem in Cuba is economic and not political."

Another Facebook user, Ana Judith Rizo, jokes that "I wish there was a Council of Ministers in Cuba made up of store owners," referring to the simple analysis proposed by the comedian in his post.

In the same vein, Zuren Matutes Fabelo points out that "these people continue to play at communism in order to maintain absolute control over all the money that flows, when it is more than proven that those leftist economic policies do not work," referring to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero.

José Luis Villa Zulueta expresses less faith. "In summary, the clumsy are throwing stones blindly, trying to hit something," he insisted, referring to the trial-and-error approach that the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel has defended since the implementation of the Tarea Ordenamiento in 2021, until admitting in 2023 that it had been a failure.

In conclusion, and agreeing with Ulises Toirac, Facebook user Eliéser Díaz warned that this new measure from the regime will have a "boomerang effect." "How long will the experiments last?" asked Noel Domínguez. Kuba King summed it up with a blunt remark: "I'm throwing in about 400 pesos for February... Call me crazy," to which Ulises Toirac replied that, in his opinion, that amount is insufficient.

Sixty years of experience

Ulises Toirac has joked about the experience he has gained over sixty years in Cuba, which helps him evaluate what awaits the island in 2025. "Living through more than sixty experiences and going through all the economic and labor states allows one to appreciate with clarity, to have a broader perspective. They call them 'heavyweights of brains' in comparative states," he wrote on Facebook.

The comedian believes that this year, 2024, has been "the worst," but he doesn't dare to say that 2025 will be any better. "This is undoubtedly the worst, although I admit it could be worse. Having the age I mentioned before has taught me that you can never truly say 'it can’t get any worse.' That's a lie! If you get hit by a car, it speeds off, there's no one around, your phone battery dies, and it starts to rain... there's always a chance that, on top of all that, you might also fart and have an accident, just to give an example. There's always a way to be in a worse situation. I assure you," he emphasized with his characteristic humor.

He admits, with a smile, that 2024 has been a tough year for him. "This has been my worst year for various reasons, both personally and socially. The economic crisis affecting the whole world is reaching absurd levels here, and I can't see any signs of hope or direction. With measures being taken, it's like saying, 'You’ll see, everything will be fine'... It's hard. On top of that, there's a deep sense of deprivation in terms of clothing, food, and finances... Honestly, it feels like it couldn't get any worse."

However, being a comedian after all, he always adds a touch of optimism to his writings: "That doesn’t stop me from working, writing, founding, or planning. Living is just that: moving. Otherwise, it would be surviving in crab mode, and life is far too short to press pause and start hibernating," he concluded.