In the front page for this site, there's a brief article by Michael Moretti concerning the USD situation in Cuba. Moretti states that Cuba is going back to the Cuban Peso as the standard: "Cuban peso will regain its place as the country's primary currency." That is not correct. The currency will be in the form of CONVERTIBLE PESOS (as he quoted Castro's statement). This is confusing, but even more so if tourists come onto the site and want information about Cuba. The Cuban Peso is about 25:1 (Peso:USD). The Chavito (Convertible Peso) is 1:1.
Why is this a problem?
I know of a situation where an Italian tourist was going into a cigar store to buy cigars. As he went in, he was hounded by jineteros to buy their stuff for less. He refused, but in the course of the conversation, the tourist was told that he could not pay in dollars, but that he had to pay in pesos. The jinetero gladly exchanged for him...1:1 of course, no 10% penalty, so for $600 (USD), the tourist walked away with $600 Cuban Pesos. Those pesos were worth about $24.00 (US). The jinetero walked away with a cool $575 USD!!!!!
So...how about a little clarification...
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Posts: 10304 | Location: Avenida de las Nalgas, Quericæstan | Registered: May 02, 2002
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