VENEZUELA
Radical Measures
Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a 60-fold hike in the minimum wage and a 96 percent currency devaluation in an effort to avert an outright collapse of the economy.
Among the other radical steps Maduro unveiled on Friday, the president also pegged the bolivar to Venezuela’s recently launched cryptocurrency and hiked taxes, Reuters reported. Now, shopkeepers are weighing whether to remain closed or raise their prices to match the new policies – and risk alienating customers.
That’s not the only way the move could backfire. Economists said the hike in the monthly minimum wage from 3 million bolivars to 180 million bolivars, or roughly $0.5 to $30, would drive many companies out of business – worsening conditions by increasing unemployment.
That, in turn, could spur another wave of mass emigration, even as Brazil was forced to deploy troops to put down attacks on migrant camps in the border town of Pacaraima, while Ecuador tightened its immigration rules to try to stem the flow, according to the BBC.
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