President Nicolas Maduro announced a 18-fold increase in Venezuela’s monthly minimum wage to roughly 126 bolivars ($28) by pegging it to the value of half a petro, the government’s cryptocurrency.
“You proposed to set the workers’ basic minimum wage to half a petro, approved!” said Maduro during a televised speech he gave before an assembly of 10,000 government workers. “And that pushes all salary tables upwards.”
