Cubans lined up by the dozens at exchange houses on Tuesday for the chance to buy dollars and other hard currency from the government for the first time in two years.
The new policy announced Monday night comes almost three weeks after the communist government began buying hard currency from the public at 110.40 pesos per dollar — a rate similar to that of the black market and more than four times the rate used for official transactions.
Under the new policy, meant to help combat the illegal market in hard currency, individuals can buy up to $100 in cash a day at a rate of 123.60 to the dollar in 37 designated state CADECA exchange shops.
The official rate used by government industries and agencies that dominate the economy remains 24 pesos to the dollar.
At the start of 2021, Cuba eliminated a longstanding dual currency system, dropping a special type of convertible peso supposedly aimed largely at tourism and foreigners and changing all operations into local currency.
The low, fixed official rate meant people avoided exchanging money through the government, starving it even further of hard currency and its ability to import needed products.
Officials said Monday that under the new policy, sales of hard currency will be limited not only by the $100 cap but also by how much the local exchange house had purchased from the public the day before.