• IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    15 days ago

    Cuba can’t pay because Cuba can’t conduct normal finances with the rest of world because of the US embargo

    It’s like having having someone handcuff you, cuff you feet and pin you to the ground and rest their knee on your neck and ask you why you can’t get up on your own.

      • dariusj18@lemmy.world
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        15 days ago

        The question is, with what currency? The Cuban dollar is not really worth anything outside Cuba, so they can only rely on exports to fund currency needed to buy imports.

        • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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          15 days ago

          This is true, but not due to a US embargo. I should think that the state has access to many different currencies. But, in the end, they have limited resources. Cigars, some Rum (though a lot of countries distil and export rum in the Caribbean). They used to export mercenaries and doctors but noone is buying now.

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            14 days ago

            You don’t think being explicitly barred access from what is essentially considered “the world currency” at this point wouldn’t change their access? C’mon.

            • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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              14 days ago

              They’re not barred from access. Just can’t use US banks. There are many banks in the world.

              • blackbelt352@lemmy.world
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                14 days ago

                They’re allowed to play monopoly, they just can’t use the regular monopoly money.

                The global economy is run on the US dollar. It’s the measuring stick all other currencies use as a reference point.

                  • blackbelt352@lemmy.world
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                    13 days ago

                    And the US Dollar is the measuring stuck upon which all other currencies are based upon. I’d it takes all kinds of regulatory and embargo based nonsense for a bank to play ball with the US and Cuba, that bank won’t do it.

                  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                    14 days ago

                    Do you know what the Petrodollar is? Have you ever seen USD called “the World’s Reserve Currency”? There are reasons for this. The majority of world commerce is done using USD.

                    The US dollar has served as the world’s leading reserve currency since World War II. Today, the dollar represents 58 percent of the value of foreign reserve holdings worldwide. The euro, the second-most-used currency, comprises only 20 percent of foreign reserve holdings.

                    https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/geoeconomics-center/dollar-dominance-monitor/

                    As the article goes on to say, Russia’s invastion of Ukraine, and BRICS attempt to move away from USD toward other currencies like the Yuan, is changing the landscape as we speak.

                    But since 1963, or whenever the fuck it started, the USD has dominated. The act of simply not allowing a nation to participate in that, for such a long time, does a lot of damage. I think Cuba has done pretty well for itself, all things considered.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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        15 days ago

        You are technically correct … but there are several convoluted rules and regulations controlled and mandated by the US that it makes it either very difficult or impossible for most countries to do business or trade with Cuba.

        Cuba can trade with anyone they want … it’s just purposely made so difficult that very few do so and the ones who do provide very little in exchange.

        https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/19/facebook-posts/cuba-can-trade-other-countries-heres-some-context/