Single-currency talk

An AP report cites the Cuban economy minster, Jose Luis Rodriguez, on the possibility of Cuba creating a single currency and doing away with the dual-currency system where the Cuban peso and the “peso convertible” circulate side by side. (Spanish here, shorter English version here.)

Unification of the currency would open the door to ending the severe inequality of income between Cubans who have hard currency income (57 percent of Cuban households, according to Rodriguez) and those who do not. Increasingly, Cuban media and official discourse are treating this as a major challenge for economic policy.

Rodriguez is not breaking new ground with this statement. He and others have said many times before that currency unification is on the agenda, but they have never indicated when this step might be taken. Right now, Rodriguez says, it is under study. We’ll stay tuned.