Our favorite South American dictator, Hugo Chavez, announced this week that he plans to knock three zeros off the Venezuelan bolivar.
Turns out Chavez has done such a fantastic job “protecting” his people, a black market for U.S. dollars has spiked in the streets of Caracas. Chavez has doubled government spending since 2003 and instituted countrywide price controls.
The result has been staggering. Currently, the “official” exchange rate is one dollar for 2,150 bolivars. But on the black market, the average Venezuelan citizen has to pay upward of 4,000 bolivars to get one dollar’s worth of goods.
What a nightmare…
Starting in 2008, the new “strong bolivar” will be instituted. “Strong”… yeah, OK… strong like Chavez “dynamic” democracy.
Turns out Chavez has done such a fantastic job “protecting” his people, a black market for U.S. dollars has spiked in the streets of Caracas. Chavez has doubled government spending since 2003 and instituted countrywide price controls.
The result has been staggering. Currently, the “official” exchange rate is one dollar for 2,150 bolivars. But on the black market, the average Venezuelan citizen has to pay upward of 4,000 bolivars to get one dollar’s worth of goods.
What a nightmare…
Starting in 2008, the new “strong bolivar” will be instituted. “Strong”… yeah, OK… strong like Chavez “dynamic” democracy.
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