Different research studies point to Venezuela as a country submerged in poverty, despite several positive indicators that speak of economic improvements. The recovery of salaries, bank loans and reduction of poverty levels are some of the great debts that today continue to weigh on its economy.
However, it is the common citizen who can verify one reality or another. That’s why, The Voice of America interviewed several Venezuelans, who pointed out that these rates of recovery of the country’s economyis not reflected in their pockets.
José Padrón is a taxi driver with 38 years of experience who told VOA how over the years he has seen the deterioration of his purchasing power, and therefore, his quality of life.
“It served us for everything. We could change vehicles. It covered all the expenses, now it is enough for food as a joke », says Padrón while he hopes to get a client in a financial district in eastern Caracas. He has been five hours since he left for work, and in that time, he has not had any trips.
Hyperinflation
VOA It refers to the closure of hyperinflation in January, after four consecutive years of this phenomenon that pulverized the income of Venezuelans. However, he recalled the report by the Venezuelan Finance Observatory that indicates that between May 2021 and May of this year, inflation in Venezuela was 151%, the highest in the world.
“I had my store, but I had to close it, because things were increasing, it was more difficult for me to bring the products and the clients did not have that power, that strength to buy,” said the merchant Angela Piccinini, one of the victims of this phenomenon. hyperinflationary.
For his part, the economist and university professor Daniel Cadenas referred to the slight economic improvements as a situation that benefits only one segment.
“It is a very unequal economic growth that is highly concentrated in the ability to consume of a very small segment of the population,” Cadenas explained.
“If there is no way for wages in Venezuela to grow at a higher rate, and income recovers in real terms, and the bulk of the population can consume more, you will not have that feeling of well-being. It will be a growth that nobody realizes. No one perceives it,” Cadenas added.
No loans or bank credits
Bank credits and loans are an issue that also remained in the past, so those who want to make an investment must have their own means.
«People who want to buy have to do it on their own, with their money. There is no way to finance it,” warns financial analyst Henkel García, director of the Econometric firm.
