Even the smallest or most informal businesses try to protect themselves from the rise of the dollar. Various premises in commercial areas such as Catia woke up this Thursday with their santamarías down
The increase in the dollar in the last 48 hours has generated chaos in the Venezuelan population. Observing how the parallel exchange rate climbed 29% from Bs 7.04 to Bs 9.08 in just two days set off alarms and reminded many of the most critical moments of the Venezuelan economic crisis, when hyperinflation was the main enemy from the pocket of the citizens.
For the collective memory of Venezuelans, the rapid rise in the exchange rate and the disparity between the parallel dollar and the official one marked by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) are not good signs. So when the two factors combined in the last few hours, they did what they could to hunker down.
Those who kept bolivars in their bank accounts took to the streets to spend as much as they could, especially given the limited supply of dollars in the foreign exchange market, since very few people are willing to sell their foreign currency in exchange for bolivars, which could be devalued in question. of hours
But in addition, they detected an opportunity in the difference between the parallel and official rates. This Wednesday, August 24, at least for a few hours, there was a difference of almost 40% between the BCV dollar and the parallel indicated by the account Venezuela Dollar Monitor.
While the BCV dollar stood at Bs 6.28, the parallel dollar was already at Bs 8.70. That is, a difference of Bs 2.42 between both rates. In an economy that is governed by both exchange rates, the disparity allowed to take advantage.
*Also read: BCV goes out to sell dollars to stop the parallel that arrives this #25Ago to Bs. 9
Medium and large businesses are supervised by the authorities so that they fix their products at the official rate. Thanks to social networks, it became known that large chains such as Daka or Hiper Leader received a huge flow of customers who tried to take products from the shelves marked with prices set by the BCV dollar.
To put this difference in perspective, if a citizen managed to change $100 to bolívares with the parallel rate, they would have received Bs 870 and when going to these chains with the intention of spending that $100 but with the official rate, they would have invested only Bs 628. This it means that they would have saved Bs 242 or almost $30 of the $100 they exchanged.
That is why videos like the one about the nervous purchases of the Hyper Leader of Cúa, Miranda state, became viral. Workers were trying to remove merchandise for sale, while customers were trying to fill their carts with products. Of course, for the company this translates into loss.
#24Aug #Parallel dollar
Nervous purchases | They remove from the shelves the products for sale in the #HyperLeader of #Cuato change prices, as a result of the increase in the parallel dollar #24Aug pic.twitter.com/ySvpnpDF7V@johanalvarezr– Report Now (@ReporteYa) August 24, 2022
The morning of Thursday, August 25, was not much different. Various citizens warned that chains like Daka opened their doors later than usual. The reason? Remark prices even in dollars in the face of the uncertainty of possible increases in the exchange rate.
Daka remarking prices because the dollar rose, does anyone understand how the prices of something that is charged in dollars rise? pic.twitter.com/Yd56sQGBZa
– Luis Acosta M (@luisjota) August 25, 2022
Citizen Gabriely Lacruz commented to SuchWhich that this was the case of the Daka located on Avenida Rómulo Gallegos, near Los Cortijos; and also from El Recreo. This chain usually opens its doors at 8:00 am and they did it after 9:00 am. While they remained closed, long lines of people waited outside waiting for the signal to enter to buy.
«My mother works in the Los Cortijos business area, where there is a Daka, and she told me that the queue is very long. At the Daka in El Recreo, where I work, at 9:00 am when I arrived, it had not yet opened. I think they were marking up prices. Usually by 8:00 am it’s already open,” she recounted.
Even the smallest or most informal businesses try to protect themselves from this escalation. Various stores in commercial areas such as Catia woke up this Thursday with their santamarías down.
In other cases, they opened later because they waited for the publication of the Venezuela Dollar Monitor, which updates at 9:00 am, to mark their prices.
#NOW | In Catia some shops are charging the dollar at the price of #parallel dollarwhile others are governed by the rate of #BCV and a large part of the premises in this commercial area woke up with their doors closed due to the increase in it. #25Aug #dollarvenezuela pic.twitter.com/ubb3ieG6yw
— News Everyone Now (@nta_vzla) August 25, 2022
These closures have been reported since yesterday, as was the case of the Flea Market in Maracaibo. Up to 30% of stores closed due to the uncertainty generated by these increases.
#24Aug #Parallel dollar
Ender Pinto, president of the Association of Merchants of the Las Pulgas Market, in the capital of Zulia, reported that 30% of the union in the central town closed due to the instability in the price of the parallel dollar. @CronicaUno pic.twitter.com/smJRqweTFb– Report Now (@ReporteYa) August 24, 2022
Saab criminalizes dealers
With the arrival of chaos, the witch hunt began against victims of a poor exchange rate policy and the consequences of disastrous economic management by the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Despite the fact that most of the country’s economic problems were caused by the restrictive policies of Chavismo and that the regulations have only caused headaches for private businessmen and citizens, the attorney general imposed by the dissolved constituent assembly, Tarek William Saab has already begun to “impart justice” in his own way, through social networks.
Through his Twitter account, the official reported that all “criminal merchants” who sold their products at the parallel dollar rate would be subject to sanctions and even legal proceedings.
In his message, Saab shared another tweet published at the beginning of the month, in which he announced that citizen Hebert Enrique Piña Bermúdez, a dairy merchant who refused to sell his products at the BCV rate, had been charged.
«Speculators with the dollar parallel to the BCV rate, see yourself in this mirror. The Public Ministry, under our guidance, has designed an exemplary national sanction plan against delinquent merchants who are stealing from our people in this way,” he warned.
#speculators with the $ parallel to the BCV rate #VEANS in this mirror: the Public Ministry @MinpublicoVEN under our guidance has designed a national plan for #SANCTION exemplary against the delinquent merchants who are stealing from our people in this way https://t.co/NshYZRPo7A
— Tarek William Saab (@TarekWiliamSaab) August 25, 2022
looting alerts
As usually accompanies the closing of shops and nervous purchases, there have also been attempts at looting in recent hours.
According to a report by the newspaper El Tigrense, three people were arrested in the morning after trying to loot a business in the Municipal Market of Puerto La Cruz, Anzoátegui state.
Officials from the Municipal Police of Sotillo arrested three men who took advantage of the chaos while customers of a business complained about the rise in food prices as a result of the increase in the parallel dollar.
Post Views:
795
