The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz announced this Wednesday before the National Assembly of People's Power that the first private currency exchange in Cuba is ready to operate as a pilot project, following the approval of the regulatory framework that authorizes such entities under a license from the Central Bank of Cuba.
The immediate reaction on social media was not one of celebration, but rather widespread skepticism: dozens of Cubans questioned, with irony, from the social media channels of CiberCuba, who that entity really belonged to.
"Whose is it? The Machi's, the Crab's, or Marrero's sister's?" a user wrote on Facebook.
Another comment was straightforward: "Private, and is it from the Central Bank?"
A third party summarized it with a rhetorical question: "Who is going to believe it's private? No words. If it were an ice cream factory, a pizzeria, I would understand, but a currency exchange?"
The distrust has a clear antecedent: since the regime authorized the micro, small, and medium enterprises (mipymes) in 2021, there has been persistent public suspicion that some operate as fronts for officials or their relatives. One comment expressed it bluntly: "Like the mipymes, whose are they?"
Other users pointed directly to the nomenclature: "Guess who the owner will be, guesser! How creative, the man!" wrote one. Another declared: "Lower the curtain and raise the curtain."
The criticism also extended to the lack of concrete information. Marrero did not specify the name of the entity, its owners, its location, the rates that will be applied, or the exact start date of operations. "What a lot of talking with no details on where or at what price," summarized one user.
In his address to the deputies gathered at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, Marrero stated: "The regulatory framework for the authorization, under the license of the Central Bank of Cuba, of private exchange houses has been approved. The first private exchange house is ready to begin operations as a pilot project."
The announcement is part of the package of 176 economic transformations approved on June 18 during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly, which also includes the authorization of private banking, private remittance operators, and a real-time digital currency market.
The context in which the announcement arrives exacerbates citizens' skepticism. The dollar was quoted at around 673 Cuban pesos in the informal market this Wednesday, compared to an official rate of Segment III of 601 CUP, after reaching a peak of 695 CUP in June.
This gap has fueled a parallel market for converting bank transfers into cash with informal commissions of up to 40% in cities like Santiago de Cuba, where the National Revolutionary Police arrested individuals in May who were charging between 35% and 50% for that service.
Marrero acknowledged the seriousness of the cash problem and warned that "there must be more demand, more confrontation, and measures commensurate with the seriousness of this issue," referring to those who charge commissions for accepting transfers or require high-denomination bills.
The head of government himself admitted that the process now enters its "most important and difficult" stage: ensuring the effective implementation of the measures, evaluating their real impacts, and promptly correcting any deviations that arise. This warning, for many Cubans on social media, sounded more like an acknowledgment of past failures than a promise of real change.
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