| Another lesson learned from Zimbabwe, right after stealing all the assets, letting your cronies fleece the country, and cowing the opposition. |
| But not near that of Zimbabwe. You've got a ways to go, Hugo! |
The bolivar, named after Chavez's 19th century hero Simon Bolivar, trades above 4,000 bolivars to the dollar on the parallel market, around double the official fixed exchange rate is 2,150 bolivars. Chavez said he wants to alter the bills so that for example, a 1,000 bolivar note would be a one bolivar coin. "This will give us higher efficiency in payment systems, consolidate confidence in the currency and produce positive psychological effects in people," Chavez said in his late-night television program "Hello President."
| Look how well it worked in Zimbabwe. |
But Domingo Maza Zavala, who this year left his post on the board of the central bank, disagreed, saying it would prompt people to spend more and allow stores and suppliers to edge their prices up. "With rounding it's always the same problem, there's never any rounding down," he told local station Union Radio on Friday morning.
Chavez has faced opposition and media criticism for last year's inflation of 17 percent and has struggled to keep food costs down despite controls that have caused distortions in supply chains and occasionally left store shelves empty.