Venezuela to Raise Spending 46% in 2012 Budget Ahead of Vote
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Venezuela’s government will boost spending by 46 percent in 2012 as President Hugo Chavez seeks resources to fund housing, agriculture and job creation plans that are pillars of his re-election bid next October.
Expenditures will jump to 297.8 billion bolivars ($69.34 billion) while estimates see the economy expanding 5 percent and the Western Hemisphere’s highest inflation rate falling to between 20 percent to 22 percent, Finance Minister Jorge Giordani said today during a presentation of the budget proposal to the National Assembly. Consumer prices rose 26.7 percent from a year earlier in September.