(6 Oct 2017) Venezuelans already struggling to find food, medicine and other basic necessities have a new headache to worry about: shortages of cash.
Troubling shortfalls of Venezuelan bolivars are forcing many in this distressed South American nation to gather in long lines outside banks several times a week to withdraw what little cash is available.
"It is assumed that the cashier at a bank like this, which is the first or second bank in the country, one of the strongest, has no cash to give to people who need it," bemoaned bank customer Guillermo Pereira after getting some cash from an ATM machine.
Others are resorting to bartering goods and services to skirt cash transactions.
"I accept chicken, or meat, it depends on what I need, because the idea is that the customer does not leave without his product, and I can take the food to the house," said Roberto Granadillo, 37, a watchmaker. "You cannot get any cash right now."
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blames the cash crunch on mafias allegedly moving bills overseas in an attempt to derail the nation's economy, though he's presented only scant evidence to back the claim.
What is certain is that Venezuela's triple-digit inflation continues to skyrocket, meaning Venezuelans must find larger quantities of the scarce bills to purchase even relatively inexpensive items like bread and a cup of coffee.
The Venezuelan government released new, higher denomination bills in values of 500, 5,000 and 20,000 bolivars earlier this year after the already stewing currency meltdown left the country's then largest note worth just around 2 U.S. cents on the black market.
But now even the freshly minted bills, printed in rainbow hues and imported in part from the United States, are quickly dwindling in value.
In January one U.S. dollar valued 4,578 bolivars on the country's pervasive black market; by October their worth had dipped to 29,170 per U.S. dollar, according to data from Dolar Today, a website highly critical of the government that says it tracks the black market rate.
Analysts project Venezuela's inflation could surpass 1,000 percent this year and many Venezuelans worry recently announced sanctions by the Trump administration prohibiting US banks from issuing new credit to the Venezuelan government or its state oil company will deepen the economic crisis.
In September, authorities enacted stricter banking and business regulations in an attempt to stem the tide of bolivar bills. Officials are also considering printing bills in even higher values.
The cash shortage is already being felt in the daily lives of Venezuelans like Granadillo, who said his weekly income has slipped 50 percent as customers use the bills they are able to obtain to purchase food instead of comparative luxuries like a watch repair.
Instead of cash, he has recently begun accepting a new form a payment: A kilo (2.2 pounds) of ham, chicken or beef in exchange for a newly ticking watch.
At the start of 2017, a 20,000 bolivar bill _ the equivalent of about 6 US dollars and the largest denomination in Venezuelan currency _ could easily purchase five basic food products: Rice, coffee, corn flour, sugar and pasta.
The National Assembly has proposed a number of measures aimed at resolving the cash shortage including measures like taking existing 50 and 100 bolivar notes and adding three zeroes to increase their value.
The escalating cash crunch comes on the heels of four months of political upheaval that left at least 120 people dead in near-daily protests decrying Maduro's rule.
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