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posted by janrinok on Wednesday December 14 2016, @12:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the toilet-paper-is-worth-more dept.

The BBC Reports:

In a surprise announcement, [President Nicolas] Maduro said on Sunday that the 100-bolivar note, worth about 2 US cents (£0.015) on the black market, would be taken out of circulation on Wednesday.

The president said the aim was to tackle transnational gangs which hoard the Venezuelan notes abroad, a move he has in the past described as part of the "economic war" being waged against his government. [...] He said part of the plan was to block any of the 100-bolivar notes from being taken back into the country so the gangs would be unable to exchange their hoarded bills, making them worthless.

"I have given the orders to close all land, maritime and air possibilities so those bills taken out can't be returned and they're stuck with their fraud abroad," he said speaking on television.

Venezuela's currency has fallen dramatically amid skyrocketing inflation.

[...] Analysts say the move is likely to worsen the cash crunch in Venezuela, where people have already been limited in the amount of cash they can take out at automated teller machines. Venezuelans have only been given 10 days to exchange their 100-bolivar notes for new coins and bills ranging from 500 to 20,000 bolivars due to be introduced from 15 December.


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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 14 2016, @01:29AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 14 2016, @01:29AM (#441110) Journal

    Isn't India doing the same thing, with the same results?

    And using similar justifications. Venezuelan inflation is even worse which makes the whole justification exercise ludicrous.

  • (Score: 1) by Francis on Wednesday December 14 2016, @04:56AM

    by Francis (5544) on Wednesday December 14 2016, @04:56AM (#441182)

    This is mostly just for propaganda purposes. The incompetent and corrupt government is using this to try and cover up their own incompetence. Such as recently when they seized millions of dollars in toys to give to the children because the company was speculating on their future value.

    There's no real point in investing in Venezuela as their government will seize all of the proceeds as well as whatever capital was used to create it. It's amazing how much damage the far left has done to the country.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 14 2016, @04:06PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 14 2016, @04:06PM (#441303) Journal
      It is interesting how lazy propaganda can be. I recall various fascist and communist governments of the 20th Century did a fair amount of that too (classic example is Nazi Germany's staged attack on a German radio station in order to justify invasion of Poland). I guess this is for the true-believers who simply need the denial box checked off - "government said 'nu-huh' so it can't be true".
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 14 2016, @09:16PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 14 2016, @09:16PM (#441429)

      "Speculating on future value" sounds so smart and business like! Who can fault a business for trying to make profit, I mean that's their job right? /s

      Let's put it another way, corporate ag business sees a food shortage coming so it stores as much long shelf life product as it can. Meanwhile food availability goes down, prices steadily go up, and at some point the company's move translates into the starvation of actual people.

      Sure this is an extreme scenario, but complaining about the big bad socialist government is just an ideological point that isn't very well thought out. Any sane person will see that 100% government owned countries are bad, but also they will see that corporations need serious checks and balances or they will also be bad. Such a sane individual will realize that human society in the 21st century is best served by a mix of socialist and capitalist systems. Provide the people with the necessary support structures for success, and allow people the freedom to pursue their own endeavors and be rewarded for jobs well done.

      The US and Russia are great examples of private ownership run amock. Criminal syndicates take power, the Earth is polluted because its cheaper, human rights go out the window because its inconvenient for people who hire labor, and the wealth disparity sets us on a collision course for civil war, or worse, WW3.

      Pure communism has similar problems, just the people in power change their titles around. Mix the two together and you have a recipe for success.

      Cling to your ideologies and ignore evidence at your own peril.