Crackers in Caracas
As the government prints money, hyperinflation looms
THIS month Venezuela’s currency, the bolívar, passed a melancholy milestone: its value on the black market is now a hundredth of what it is supposed to be at the main official exchange rate. The government insists that there are 6.3 bolívares to the dollar, but it will cost you 630 to buy one from a willing seller. As the country’s stock of hard currency shrinks and the central bank prints money to plug a huge budget deficit, the bolívar’s collapse is accelerating (see chart). It is worth a thousandth of what it was in 1999, when Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s late autocrat, came to power.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Crackers in Caracas"
More from The Americas
Why Ecuador risked global condemnation to storm Mexico’s embassy
Jorge Glas, who had claimed asylum from Mexico, is accused of abetting drug networks
The world’s insatiable appetite for Canada’s maple syrup
Production is booming, but climate change is making output more erratic
Elon Musk is feuding with Brazil’s powerful Supreme Court
The court has become the de facto regulator of social media in the country