According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (dane), Bucaramanga reached two-digit annual inflation in June, which is equivalent to 10.45%, which places it as the eighth most expensive city in Colombia.
These figures directly represent a significant increase in the prices of the family basket, causing in citizens a tasteless when spending moneyso now they must squeeze a lot in their economy.
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According to an expert from the Faculty of Economics in Bucaramanga, professor Mauricio Villamizarwho is part of the Santo Tomás University, “the issue of inflation in the city means that we will have less money to make purchases, because the vast majority of the population generally receives the same salary every month of the year, except in the months of June or December that receive legal and extralegal premiums; however, when you go to the market place, or to the supermarket and before you bought 30 products, now you will only buy 16 or 20 products”.
The economist added that “this means that many people will sacrifice what is not so necessary, including leisure, recreation, and if, on the contrary, they are prioritized in situations such as products from the family basket, cleanliness, elements that are essential for the daily”.
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Citizen opinion
This situation immediately generated concern among the inhabitants of Bucaramanga, who mostly think that the salary they earn is not enough to cover all household expenses.
Martha Martínez, who earns an average salary of one million pesos, pointed out that, “Fortunately, I have a job, but I have to pay the rent, food, utilities, and transportation, so my salary is practically not enough for me anymore.so I have to live in debt to be able to pay what I need, and unfortunately I can’t leave money from my salary to go out and enjoy with my family, because if I have to walk I don’t have to eat”.
This same situation is faced by Helena López, who does not earn an average of one million pesos, because he works daily in the streets of the city of Bucaramanga to be able to pay the rent, feed her three children and buy what is needed in cleaning and school supplies. He assures that “I have to buy rice, lentils or pasta, but meat or chicken is no longer bought every day, if we consume a protein it is somewhere around once or twice a week, the rest we get eggs”.
The prices of the family basket increase progressively over time, that is why people have stopped doing recreational activities or activities that take them out of the routine, because in reality they have to squeeze in expenses, since if you have to eat you don’t have to dress or vice versa.
