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Cubans rushed to change dollars into local pesos as President Fidel Castro's communist government prepared to end circulation of the U.S. currency after a decade.Many lined up anxiously to change their dollar savings only to be told they would have to wait until Thursday. Mr. Castro said Monday night that Cuba is ending cash operations in the currency in response to tightened U.S. sanctions. Foreign executives said the impact on their operations will be negligible. Diplomats saw the move as a clever bid to rake in dollars the cash-strapped state needs to import food and oil.
As of Nov. 8, the Central Bank decreed that Cubans, foreign residents and tourists will have to use locally printed convertible pesos, pegged at present to the dollar, for cash purchases in stores, restaurants and other businesses. A 10% commission will be charged for changing dollars into pesos, but not for other currencies. Ordinary Cubans said they are paying for the ideological war between Washington and Havana. Some said they would ask relatives in Miami to start sending euros. The dollar was legalized in 1993 after the fall of the Soviet Union plunged the island into economic crisis. Most dollars are sent by relatives in the U.S., an estimated inflow of $1.1 billion a year that has helped keep the economy afloat. |