Cuba to accept U.S. dollars at government stores
(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) WASHINGTON – Cuban officials announced stores will be excluding a 10% tax on purchases done with U.S. dollars. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Alejandro Gil, Cuba’s minister of economy, made the announcement on Thursday. “We are in an exceptional situation,” Gil said in Spanish, adding the measure was in response to the economic crisis brought upon the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. embargo and a reduction in tourism.
Cuba enacts new constitution
MIAMI – Cuba's national assembly met Wednesday to enact the new constitution that replaces the 1976 Soviet-era Magna Carta. After a year of debate, Cubans ratified the new constitution in February. The new constitution orders Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to appoint a new prime minister. The national assembly has less than six months to approve a new electoral law and less than 18 months to enact laws to include presumption of innocence and habeas corpus in the judicial system. Legislators also have less than two years to address the issue of whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage.