20818: Hess: Re: 20800: Lyall to Antoine on dollar and dola ht: Corbett add

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: DougRHess@aol.com

"What is mysterious to me is how the Haitian central bank kept the gourde at
5 to the dollar all thru the duvalier regimes. It wasn't until the
first aristide embargo of 1992-94 that the gou started to fall I believe."

Heavens no. That's not true at all. It would be interesting to see a chart of
black market values for the G to the USD. I recall it being well over 5 in
the late 1980s.

Doug Hess

Corbett adds:  Doug Hess is correct about this.  I remember vividly when
in 1983 I first learned from some Haitian friends that I could get 6 goud
for the dollar if I went down on Rue Pavee where there were money
changers.  It grew very slowly in the last three years of the Baby Doc's
years.


Bob