Posted on 05/26/2008 2:28:42 PM PDT by Dawnsblood
When it comes to running the economy, no-one could ever accuse Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez of being a hostage to conventional wisdom.
With the country's most recent statistics showing consumer price rises of 29.1% in the 12 months to the end of March - the highest rate of increase in Latin America - now might not be the best time for inflation-busting pay deals.
But on 1 May, Mr Chavez gave public sector workers an across-the-board salary increase of 30%.
He said maintaining people's purchasing power was a more pressing priority than getting inflation down.
At the same time, he put up Venezuela's minimum wage by the same percentage, to the local equivalent of $372 a month. This, too, is now the highest in Latin America, according to the president.
Why the sudden largesse? Well, Mr Chavez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is in the process of selecting its candidates for state and municipal elections due to be held in November.
The last time regional polls were held, in 2004, was a high-water mark for the president and his followers, who ended up with 20 of the country's 23 state governorships - although a couple have since defected to the opposition.
But since then, Mr Chavez has suffered his first electoral setback. In December 2007, his plans for constitutional changes, including the removal of term limits on his presidency, were narrowly rejected by voters.
If the next elections follow that same voting pattern, pro-Chavez candidates will be left with just 15 governorships, analysts say.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
“Mr Chavez gave public sector workers an across-the-board salary increase of 30%.”
Obambi will do the same thing.
Nancy Pelosi and Hugo Chavez...both utopian democrats; just let the government pay for it.
bump
What an idiot....he is definitely on his way to busting the VZ economy...if he hasn’t already...
Hugo doesn't quite understand how inflation works.
Zimbabwe on the Caribbean?
I was gonna say the same thing. hint for Hugo: Printing money ain’t a solution for inflation.
Like the Iranians, Chavez is riding the current price of crude to maintain political power. If those who predict current prices are the result of a bubble that will bust are right, then the economies of both countries could implode and scatter socialist “parts” all over the place. Let’s hope...
Chavez has it nailed. He gives out money. The money buys him votes but wrecks the economy. But he then blames the economy on the US, and the voters believe it, getting him votes from those who didn’t already get paid for their votes.
It’s worked for him in the past and I see no reason to expect it to change.
What’s he wasting money for? He’s going to fix the election anyway. Jimmah Cotter is probably going to be there to help him, so what’s to worry?
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