The BCV has not published official inflation figures since October 2024, when the gap between the official dollar and the parallel dollar began to widen.
The bolivar closed 2025 with a devaluation of 82.7% against the US dollar in the official market, according to the last price of the year released on Tuesday, December 30, by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV). The performance of the currency reflects a significant widening of the gap with respect to the parallel market.
At the end of the last working day of the year, the official dollar stood at 301.37 bolivars, an increase of 479.33% compared to the 52.02 bolivars with which 2025 began. In contrast, the dollar in the parallel market exceeded 560 bolivars this Tuesday, deepening the exchange distortion.
With this official rate, the minimum wage — anchored at 130 bolivars since 2022 — was reduced to 0.43 dollars. In recent years, Nicolás Maduro’s administration has compensated income with bonuses that reach up to $160 for public employees, calculated at the official rate and without impact on labor benefits. These payments include the so-called economic war income ($120) and a food bonus ($40), which private sector workers also receive.
The BCV has not published official inflation figures since October 2024, when the gap between the official dollar and the parallel dollar began to widen. Economists like José Guerra have warned about the risk of a return to hyperinflation if corrective measures are not applied to the escalation of the exchange rate.
Accelerated increase in December
In December alone, the official dollar rose 21.8%, going from 247.30 bolivars at the end of November to 301.37 bolivars on December 30, a rate that will remain in force for the first day of 2026.
The rise of the dollar persists despite the actions of the Executive to stop the spread of parallel quotes, described as criminal. Since May 28, when Diosdado Cabello announced the arrest of 20 people linked to pages and accounts that published the price of the parallel dollar, the official exchange rate has increased 212.20%, from the 96.53 bolivars registered that day.
The sustained advance of the dollar continues to erode the purchasing power of workers and forces Venezuelans to look for strategies to preserve their purchasing capacity in an environment of high exchange rate instability.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content is being published taking into consideration the threats and limits that have consequently been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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