The Faustino Pérez Hospital in Matanzas inaugurated a CADECA (Currency Exchange House) office within its facilities on Thursday, a measure presented by authorities as a step forward in financial services for healthcare staff, but which immediately generated skepticism among Cubans on social media.
According to the state media TV Yumurí, the service will be aimed exclusively at hospital workers; patients and their families will only be able to access it exceptionally and with prior authorization from the center's management. The office will operate from Monday to Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The hospital's official announcement on Facebook described the opening as the result of coordination between the center's management and the CADECA team, with the Maintenance team responsible for adapting the premises.
But the official celebration clashed with the distrust of those who are closely aware of the cash crisis affecting Cuba. One of the most direct comments on the hospital's post raised the question that many were asking: "Will they give the full salary or only 500 pesos a day, just like the bank?" in reference to the withdrawal restrictions imposed by some bank branches in the country.
Another person was even more pessimistic about the service's durability: "Take advantage of it while you can; problems will start soon: there's no money, there’s no connection, we are giving 1,000, but the denomination is 5,000, and we can't give it in parts."
A third voice was more emphatic: "More chain. If there's no money in the ones that already exist, it's all a fabrication and a farce."
Other users questioned basic aspects that the official announcement did not clarify: whether CADECA would allow withdrawals from bank cards or just currency exchange, and if they would post the current exchange rates. Someone summarized the irony in a single sentence: "A currency exchange in a hospital. Interesting!"
Skepticism is based on the reality that the people of Matanzas experience. The average daily salary of a worker in Matanzas barely reaches 236 pesos, while stores apply surcharges of between 10% and 30% for those who pay by transfer. At the national level, Banco Metropolitano reduced the withdrawal limit from 5,000 to 3,000 pesos per transaction last June, and in some provinces, banks only allow withdrawals of 500 pesos per transaction.
The opening at Faustino Pérez follows a trend that has already been observed in other healthcare facilities. Last September, the José Martí Pérez Pediatric Hospital in Sancti Spíritus opened a similar office, where the director confirmed that staff could withdraw their entire salary. Previously, the Camilo Cienfuegos General Hospital, also in Sancti Spíritus, had already established a CADECA point since the end of 2023.
The proliferation of these offices within hospitals reflects that the changing institution is being used, in practice, as a stopgap for a banking system that cannot guarantee access to cash. A nurse with over twenty years of experience at the Provincial Hospital of Matanzas left her hospital job to work in a restaurant because her salary was insufficient to support her family.
As one user pointed out with more irony than enthusiasm: "With that CADECA they set up in the Faustino, maybe they can fix the hospital a little."
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