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The announcement from the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) regarding the new floating exchange rate triggered a flood of reactions on social media, where humor, confusion, and anger set the general tone. While the government presented the measure as a step to “strengthen the Cuban peso,” the comments reveal a mix of distrust and resignation towards a reform that many interpret as the official recognition of the informal market.
Since December 18, the country operates with three exchange rate segments: one at 1x24 for essential state services, another at 1x120 for entities with external income, and a third "floating" rate for citizens and private management forms, with an initial rate of 410 pesos per dollar and 481.42 per euro. The figures, nearly identical to those reported by the informal market, sparked surprise and irony even in official spaces.
In the post by the Central Bank of Cuba on Facebook, several users expressed confusion about how the measure will work. "Are there three types of dollars?" asked one of the first commenters, while another questioned, “Does this mean I can go to the bank and buy all the dollars I want at 410?” Others focused on the differences between rates: “What happened to the MLC?”, “Why is the euro more expensive than the Toque?”, “And what’s the Mexican peso doing here?”.
Some readers tried to reason the change by comparing it to foreign experiences: “China and Russia have a similar system, but there the State allows free production,” wrote an internet user who called for “adapting the Cuban economy to current times.” However, most expressed skepticism: “I don’t understand anything; they say floating rate but no one can buy or sell freely,” pointed out another comment. On the pages of Cubadebate, the messages that were more in line with the official discourse defended the measure as “a necessary step to organize the market,” although even there doubts prevailed: “If there are no foreign currencies, what is the point of the rate?” asked a reader.
In the post from CiberCuba, the tone was equally severe. “The Toque under a different name, it’s that simple,” wrote a user, referring to the independent media that had published informal rates for months. Several comments expressed the same idea, with similar criticisms about the resemblance between the new state system and the one the government itself had condemned. Another joked: “We already have our toque, now no one is coming from outside to mess up our economy, we’ll do it ourselves.”
The closeness of values to the informal market fueled collective sarcasm. “So much criticism of Toque only to end up the same,” was read in dozens of responses. “This is the same thing with a different logo,” summarized another user, while someone pointed out: “They took away the name, not the rate.” Some took the opportunity to highlight inequality: “Those who change at 1x24 are the upper class; the people, with the floating rate, will continue to go hungry and live in darkness.”
Others emphasized the lack of transparency: “Who decides who enters each segment?” asked one internet user, while another added: “The government doesn’t compete with the market, it only mimics it.” There were also messages of open frustration: “A doctor earns 13 dollars a month; with this change, the lowest salary in the history of humanity.”
Among the most shared reactions were those denouncing the contradiction between the official discourse and the economic reality. "They spent a month discrediting Toque, only to end up like them," said one of the most upvoted comments. Another summarized: "The problem in Cuba is not the rate; it is the system that controls and punishes those who try to succeed."
Many of the comments agreed on one point: confusion. Even those who welcomed the announcement did so with reservations. “I hope it works, but if prices don't go down and there’s no production, the rate doesn’t matter,” noted a participant on Cubadebate. “All this does is make everything more expensive,” added another on the Central Bank's page.
"Every new measure is an old lie with a different name," wrote one user. "There is no shortage of diagnoses; there is an abundance of will to change the system," expressed another. The feeling of resignation mingled with irony: "I have five dollars, I sell them for 24, I buy them for 410, and I become a millionaire... in reverse."
The new three-rate system —1x24, 1x120, and floating— is part of a redesign that the government describes as "gradual and temporary." However, the Central Bank itself admitted that “it is not what many expected”, and official data shows that the average salary, calculated at 6,685 pesos, is barely equivalent to 16 dollars per month at the current exchange rate. On Thursday, December 18, the first day of the new floating rate, the informal market remains unchanged in the selling values of the three benchmark currencies, with the dollar at 440 CUP and the euro at 480 CUP.
For citizens, the measure does not change the daily reality: cash shortages, endless lines, and unreachable prices. “If the banks don’t have money to pay salaries, where are they going to get it to exchange euros?” questioned a user on the official post. Meanwhile, others were sarcastic on social media: “Now we really have a floating rate… because everything floats, except for salaries.”
The reactions, taken together, reveal a weary country where humor remains a refuge amidst uncertainty. None of the three exchange rates seem capable of restoring confidence in the Cuban peso. Amidst confusion and mockery, one idea recurs in the comments: that the Central Bank has ultimately turned into its own "Toque," by officializing the values of the informal market that it once criticized.
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