The lines to withdraw cash begin to form from dawn, with the arrival of the first ‘coleros’ who charge 1,000 pesos to wait in line for others
14ymedio, Cienfuegos, 19 July 2024 — The ATMs located at the Banco Popular de Ahorro branch on Cienfuegos Boulevard seem to be working this Friday. Customers are encouraged when they see the screens lit up, but then start typing and immediately realize that there is no money available. It is barely two in the afternoon and the machines are already “dead.”
The ATMs at this bank branch had been putting money in at around 9:30 in the morning. The line to make withdrawals had been organized since dawn, with the corresponding coleros who charge 1,000 pesos to wait in line for each person willing to pay them for their service. A similar scene occurred a few blocks away, at the Banco de Crédito y Comercio (Bandec) located on San Carlos Street. There, since 5:00 am, Victor had been waiting, after trying to collect his pension for more than a week.
The employees of both banks warned, as if they had agreed, that only 500 peso bills would be dispensed, and that only two cards per person could be inserted. “They treat us as if we were sheep,” complained a female shop worker, who said she had been on the verge of withdrawing money several times, but “when it’s not the cash that runs out, it’s the power that goes out or the equipment that breaks.”
The lines are slow and grow longer as the morning goes on. Two hours after the first withdrawal, Victor felt that
