When Raul Castro took over the presidency of Cuba from his ailing brother, Fidel, last month his acceptance speech to the National Assembly included a teasing hint. "Within weeks", he promised, some of the restrictions that circumscribe Cubans' daily lives would be lifted. That set off a public guessing game. Would an unpopular dual-currency system be modified and the local Cuban peso, in which wages are paid, be revalued? Long queues formed at exchange houses as Cubans rushed to swap "convertible" pesos for their lowlier counterpart. Others hoped for a lifting of curbs on foreign travel, or at least for permission for Cubans to stay in tourist hotels in their own country.rnBut Mr Castro's plans have so far been more modest. According to an official memo, the government is to lift a ban on the purchase of computers, dvd players and microwaves. Next year, air conditioners should be available. Cubans can also look forward to the right to buy an electric toaster by 2010. Days later news broke that private farmers will be allowed to buy their own supplies, rather than these being assigned by the state.
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