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HAVANA – Part of Cuba's debt to Brazil, the island's main food supplier, is in default this week. In June of this year, the country paid only $ 2 million out of $ 8 million from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and the federal government's export program (Proex). According to a diplomatic source in Brazil, with June's debt ending over 180 days, Cuba is considered "in default".
According to members of the Brazilian mission to Cuba in October, total arrears at the end of this year are estimated at US $ 100 million. The amounts correspond to the financing contracted by Cuba for the construction of the port of Mariel (BNDES) and for the purchase of food products (under Proex).
BNDES President Dyogo Oliveira recently said that loans to Cuba and Venezuela were a mistake.
The Ministry of Finance said that "the BNDES has claimed compensation from the Union as guarantor, which will pay up to 30 days," he added. In the case of Proex, the product comes from the Treasury. "The Brazilian government is making efforts to recover all credits related to the financing of Brazilian exports to Cuba," added the note from the Ministry of Finance.
By the way, Cuba claims that the delays were caused by Hurricane Irma, which harmed its harvests, and by the resurgence of the US blockade, which hampers the transfer of funds through debit. international banking institutions.
According to this source, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to Cuban Vice President Ricardo Cabrisas earlier this month detailing the debt situation. Cabrisas is recognized as a successful reseller of Cuba's external debt, including that of the Paris Club. So much so that Europe is today the largest trading partner of the island.
Cuba's "default" situation prevents the country from accessing new loans and obliges Itamaraty to inform international organizations of the situation. Cuba's total debt to BNDES is $ 597 million and has a term of 25 years. With Proex, that is 100 million euros.
BNDES loans were contracted under the government of Lula and Dilma Rousseff, both of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), an alliance with the Communist Party of Cuba (CCP), currently headed by Raúl Castro. Although the Cuban government has not recognized Michel Temer's government, relations with Jair Bolsonaro's future government are not the best. Bolsonaro said Cuba was not invited to his inauguration.
In October, Brazilian diplomat Orlando Leite went to Cuba as a government envoy to seek a solution. At the meetings, Havana has asked to reschedule the debts of 2018 and 2019, to resume payments until mid-2019 and, from January 2020, to pay the normal installments plus the rescheduled portion. However, according to this source, the proposal was not formalized.
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