Chavez Devaluation Puts Venezuelans to Queue on Price Raise
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Venezuelans lined up to purchase airline tickets and TVs this weekend in a bid to protect themselves from price increases after ailing President Hugo Chavez devalued the bolivar for a fifth time in nine years.
Chavez, who is recovering from cancer surgery in Havana, ordered his government to weaken the exchange rate by 32 percent to 6.3 bolivars per dollar starting Feb. 13, Finance Minister Jorge Giordani told reporters Feb. 8. Yesterday, a sign at an electronics store in southeastern Caracas restricted customers to one purchase each as Venezuelans rushed to buy flat-screen televisions.