Cuban President Fidel Castro signed into law a decree legalizing the use of the dollar and other foreign currency on the Caribbean island, the official Cuban news agency reported Saturday.
The Prensa Latina report, monitored in Mexico City, said the decree was published Saturday in the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party, Grama. The move came three weeks after Castro publicly announced the measure, which is aimed at reactivating the Cuban economy by attracting foreign investment.Thousands of Cubans possess dollars - sent home by family members living abroad - that can now be used to make purchases in shops that up to this were exclusively for the use of foreigners.
The legalization of foreign currency comes "during a period of real economic difficulty for Cuba," the news agency said.
Grama also published a statement from the National Bank, which said Cuban citizens could "change foreign currency freely" and "could open foreign currency bank accounts."
According to the bank, Cubans have the right to purchase all types of goods and services and to exchange their foreign currency holdings for Cuban pesos, or special certificates of exchange if they wish.
The new measure applies to Canadian and U.S. dollars, German marks, French francs, Spanish pesetas, British sterling, and travelers' cheques.
The new decree abolishes all previously existing penalties for the possession or use of foreign currency, Prensa Latina said.