Market forces can be very powerful indeed. ... When the Government created its supermarket network Mercal, it was supposed to be a way of delivering cheaper goods to the poor. Mercal ... paid no custom duty, received all the currency it wanted at the official rate of exchange, was handled by military at all levels so it only had to pay labor for a reduced non-military workforce. Finally, it ... would pay no taxes. ... The Government established price controls for certain foodstuffs and they applied to ... products sold by Mercal. As inflation drove prices up, the Government allowed...