Manuel Marrero’s announcements have generated both pessimism and uncertainty, the last thing the private business sector wants
14ymedio, Madrid, 29 July 2024 — Fear has quickly spread among the island’s small business owners who, just a few months ago, were looking forward to a modest thaw in relations between Cuba and the United States. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero’s July 17 announcement of the government’s intention to “collect excess currency in circulation, advance the partial dollarization of the economy and banking, and increase tax and fiscal collection” generated not only pessimism but also the last thing the private sector wants: uncertainty.
“We are facing an incredibly difficult economy, with a legal framework that is constantly changing,” said Aldo Álvarez, founder of Mercatoria, in an interview with Bloomberg Linea a few days ago. His business is involved in the importation, distribution and production of food — specifically wheat, chicken and cooking oil — on the island. Last November, Álvarez was part of a delegation of Cuban business owners living on the island who attended an event in Miami sponsored by Cuban-Americans to promote Cuba’s private sector.
The new regulation could help mitigate the problems of inflation and make it easier to import products that our population so urgently needs”
Among the most talked-about initiatives at the meeting was the possibility that Cuban business owners could open accounts in U.S. banks, a measure that was approved by the Biden administration in May. Although there were still doubts about how the decision would be implemented without violating the embargo, the news encouraged not only the owners of small and medium-sized companies (SMSEs), but also some opposition groups such as D Frente. “The new regulation could help mitigate the problems of inflation and make it easier to import products that our population so urgently needs,” the p