"Citizens will access to this so-called third segment as well, experiencing a 232% increase against the rate of 1 USD = 123.60 Cuban pesos, which now will be available to government-picked entities only as the second segment."
I do not understand this. I think the value of dollars will rise against the CUP (from 123 to 410), but the second and third segments of the financial exchange markets remain unclear to me, in terms of who has access to which. However, your subsequent discussion of increased availability of dollars to the public sounds like a very positive development, as presently - and despite their horrific inflation - dollars represent one of the strongest currencies in global markets (which is an indictment of all the rest of them, as the price of silver and gold in dollars is rapidly increasing, which indicates not that PM's are becoming more valuable, but that dollars are rapidly declining in value relative to commodities) and this may help Cubans to resist inflation and retain more of the value of their earnings.
Thanks!
Hello, my friend. Large state enterprises are placed in the first segment, with an exchange rate of 1 USD = 24 Cuban pesos (CUP)—clearly overvalued, as is the second segment’s rate of 1 USD = 123.60 CUP, now reserved for other government-picked medium-range state enterprises and maybe some strategical private entities with proved capacity to export in a sound fashion. Until yesterday, citizens were formally located in this second segment, and, in the best-case scenario, could buy 100 dollars at that rate only once a year through a virtual queue system; a friend waited for more than two years.
Thus, the government has now introduced a third segment, where the exchange rate—which will float—is currently around 1 USD = 410 CUP. This is the segment in which citizens are effectively placed today, subject to the referred virtual queues, and now competing with SMEs and other non-state economic actors. These actors have been the main beneficiaries so far, since they were previously outside the legal framework for purchasing dollars. Thanks for showing interest in this issue and best regards, always, from the Island.
Thank you for very well clarifying my understanding.
Glad to be helpful every time I can.