Venezuela Adds to Chaos With One of Biggest Currency Devaluations Ever
- Harsh economic measures may test Maduro’s grip on power
- Inflation likely to worsen after devaluation, wage increase
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro carried out one of the greatest currency devaluations in history over the weekend -- a 95 percent plunge that will test the capacity of an already beleaguered population to stomach even more pain.
One likely outcome is that inflation, which already was forecast to reach 1 million percent this year, will get fresh fuel from the measures. Prices are currently rising at an annualized rate of 108,000 percent, according to Bloomberg’s Café con Leche index. A massive exodus of Venezuelans fleeing the crisis to neighboring countries will likely increase and with it, tensions and restrictions like the ones seen over the past few days.