As if by magic, says Pedro Silverio, the President has ordered the peso-dollar exchange down, and in a matter of days the task should be completed, following a 100% depreciation in the value of the peso over the last three years. Of course, explains the prominent economist writing in El Caribe, it is not that simple. He feels that this new “stability by intimidation” mechanism for controlling the exchange market will not have the desired effect, and is an indication of the government’s increased desperation – not a measure of its courage. This type of action has failed time and time again, and will fail here, says Silverio, in his weekly column. Even in Cuba, with its “more intelligent intelligence services”, exchange-rate control has not been achieved. It is regrettable, continues Silverio, that military personnel using strong-arm tactics have to be brought in to police the currency exchange sector – a fact that begs the question, if there have been breaches in the law, surely it is the justice system that should be dealing with them? The militarization of the currency exchange sector can only lead to more uncertainty, argues Silverio. By the same token, the signing of the IMF agreement is the only development that has had a positive impact on the peso rate, but that was scuppered when the government re-acquired the “Edes”. Economic problems cannot be tackled by force, the economist opines, and this latest decision may even put the revised IMF agreement in jeopardy. “This may have been done with good intentions,” concludes Pedro Silverio, “but as everyone knows, those are what the road to hell is paved with.”