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The comedian Ulises Toirac has once again stirred the social media by ironically proposing the creation of the “pesolar,” a fictional currency that satirizes the monetary confusion in Cuba following recent official statements about prices and payments in dollars.
In a post on his Facebook profile, Toirac reacted to the debate generated by the official program Mesa Redonda, aired this Thursday, where the Minister of Economy and Planning, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, referred to the “incredible price of beer” and “the 'discovery' that a tourist can pay in dollars at a restaurant.”
In this context, Toirac suggested eliminating the Cuban peso altogether, “a national currency that has no value in the nation,” as well as the dollar, which is not a national currency “even if they try to nationalize it by force.”
"I present to you the pesolar," wrote the comedian, accompanying the text with a caricatured image of a 100-dollar bill where the face of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, is replaced by his own, reinforcing the mocking tone of the criticism.
The post sparked a chain of equally ironic comments. Some users suggested alternative names for the currency, others joked about its supposed heritage and artistic value, and several took the opportunity to ridicule what they see as a superficial economic analysis by the authorities.
There were those who envisioned that with the "pesolar," it would finally be possible to purchase solar panels, portable batteries, or vacation in luxury hotels—an exaggeration that highlights the chasm between official rhetoric and everyday reality.
Toirac's post is set against a backdrop characterized by the recent explanations from government officials regarding the new currency management system, defended on state television as a means to channel dollars into the State budget without "dollarizing" the economy.
For many Cubans, however, that discourse confirms a reality that is already established, related to the chaotic coexistence of currencies, unrealistic exchange rates, and an increasingly devalued Cuban peso.
With humor and sarcasm, Toirac once again highlighted the issue, turning into a joke what is, for the population, a daily experience of precariousness and economic contradiction.
The day before, the Cuban regime implemented a new tightening of the process for legalizing internal transactions in dollars and other foreign currencies, through the promulgation of the Decree-Law 113/2025 and a package of complementary resolutions from the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) and the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC).
According to the government, the new system aims to organize and regulate foreign currency operations, enhance its control, and define the lawful ways of accessing foreign currency within the country.
In addition, the aim is to increase foreign currency income through exports and foreign investment, and to make the management of that currency more efficient in the national economy.
Legalization allows non-state actors to open bank accounts in foreign currencies, making it easier for them to import goods, pay for services, and carry out withdrawals and transfers. This includes micro, small, and medium enterprises (mipymes), cooperatives, self-employed workers, artists, creators, agricultural producers, and individuals with magnetic cards and access to foreign funds.
However, the content of decree law 113 reveals an almost exact continuity with the policies of former minister Alejandro Gil Fernández, who was recently tried for corruption and espionage.
Both models share the same ideological discourse, the same centralized approach, and the same effects of inequality and state control over foreign exchange.
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