The inflation of Venezuela in March it was 1.2%equal to that of February, according to data released on Thursday by the Central bank. The accumulated variation in prices in the first quarter of year was 4.1%, according to data from the Venezuelan issuer. In parallel, salaries suffer the impact of the adjustment policy.
With the March indicators, interannual inflation closed at 67.75%according to Reuters calculations based on Central Bank figures.
“Venezuela has not had this annualized inflation for 10 years”said the Executive Vice President and Minister of Finance, Delcy Rodríguez, in a state television broadcast.
Venezuela manages to control inflation: it accumulates 4.1% in 2024
The government of Venezuela is doubling efforts to stop rising prices through the exchange rate anchoring and controlling spending in the middle of an election year, which impacts public sector salaries. Officials have said they expect inflation this year to be in the double digits.
With the help of the American oil company Chevron, that operates with authorization from USA, and of Central bank, A total of US$4.2 billion was offered in 2023, 17% more than in 2022. In that period, the exchange rate depreciated 38%but for two months it has been stable at 36 bolivars per dollar.
At the end of 2021, the Government of Nicolas Maduro began to apply a orthodox politics of stabilization of the exchange market and restrictions to credit and spending to control inflation, which allowed them to have single-digit monthly rates for 10 months.
The sectors that recorded the greatest price variations in March were health with 1.6%, food and alcoholic beverages with 1.3% and transport with 1.2%.
At the moment Venezuela occupies second place in the region’s ranking, with an inflation of 189.8%, below Argentina, which closed 2023 with an inflation of 211.4%.
Side B of inflation control in Venezuela: 150 minimum wages are needed to cover the basic basket
Despite the continuous decline of the index, Venezuela goes through a desolate panorama economic is reflected in the dizzying rise of the cost of the family food basketreaching the alarming figure of US$522.01 in November, which represents a discouraging increase of 5.9% compared to the previous month.
According to the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (CENDAS – FVM), since March 2022, both the Minimum wage and pensions have remained static at 130 bolivars, equivalent to just US$3.51which has generated a significant deterioration in the purchasing power of the Venezuelan citizen, placing it at a worrying 0.7%, according to data collected by this entity.
In this context, households are faced with a harsh reality: They need approximately 148.6 minimum salaries per month to barely cover one basic basket which includes some 60 essential products.
To mitigate the ravages of this crisis, the Venezuelan Government implemented the so-called “Bonus against the Economic War“, a subsidy granted monthly to workers in the educational sector, pensioners and retirees since the beginning of 2023 by order of the Nicolás Maduro Administration.
However, the amounts of this bonus are insufficient to address the magnitude of the problem: 1,420 bolivars (approximately US$39.72) for public workers, 1,990 bolivars (about US$55.6) for public retirees and 710 bolivars (around US$19.8) for pensioners.
Source: Ambito
