Confusion Reigns as Maduro Mega-Devaluation Roils Venezuela
- Petro will anchor new currency to be rolled out on Monday
- Government plans to raise minimum wage more than 3,000 percent
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Many Venezuelan shops closed as a precaution as confusion reigned Saturday following measures announced by President Nicolas Maduro aimed at fighting an historic economic crisis in the oil-exporting nation.
The government will enact a massive currency devaluation and an increase in taxes, and will raise gasoline prices. A new version of the bolivar will trade roughly in line with where the black market was, and the government will raise the minimum wage more than 3,000 percent -- a level that still only equates to $30 a month.
Tying Venezuela’s currency to the value of its cryptocurrency, known as the Petro, effectively amounts to a 95 percent devaluation compared with last week’s central bank foreign exchange auction results.