The US dollar (USD) is being sold this Monday, January 19, at 490 Cuban pesos (CUP) in the informal market, while the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) officially maintains it at 419 CUP.
That difference of 71 pesos per dollar marks the widest gap since the establishment of the "exchange segments" system in December, and confirms that the monetary policy of the Cuban regime has completely lost control over the real value of the Cuban peso.
The euro (EUR) follows the same trend: it is trading at 525 CUP on the street compared to 485.87 CUP at the official BCC rates. The difference—of almost 40 pesos—also reaches a record, highlighting the gap between the regime's economic rhetoric and the actual market behavior.
A "floating market" that doesn't float
When the Central Bank launched its "floating rate" on December 18, it promised to reflect the market's supply and demand conditions.
But a month later, the data shows that the float is purely symbolic: the official dollar has risen just 9 pesos in 32 days, while the informal value has surged by 50 pesos in the same period.
The result is a system that does not float but rather sinks slowly into distrust. Consequently, an increasing number of Cubans ignore official figures and rely on references from the informal market, where the dollar and the euro are the only truly convertible currencies.
The simulation of the Central Bank
Economists consulted by CiberCuba agree that the Central Bank "adjusts" its rates at a political pace, not an economic one.
"The BCC is caught between two fears: the fear of acknowledging the true devaluation of the peso and the fear of losing credibility," explained a specialist from Havana.
According to the expert, the daily increases of one or two pesos published by the BCC are “cosmetic corrections” with no support from the actual supply of foreign currency.
The Central Bank is "floating" in slow motion, while the informal market surpasses it by 71 pesos per dollar—a difference that no monetary policy model can sustain without collapsing.
Two rates, two Cubas
The currency gap summarizes the state of the Cuban economy better than any speech.
On one side, a Central Bank that "manages" unrealistic figures from a desk; on the other, a street where the law of supply and demand sets the true price of money.
The regime can continue issuing statements about the stability of the CUP, but Cubans already know: the only value that matters is that of the dollar on the street.
And with a difference of 71 pesos, the so-called "floating rate" is nothing more than another lie that sinks while the market swims freely.
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