The people in Venezuela are currently said to be dealing with the highest inflation rate in the world. Though, the hyperinflation that they've been struggling with, still isn't the most crippling hyperinflation that any country in the world has ever seen in history. The people in the region are still suffering greatly however, with a large majority that have seen their standard of living drastically decrease over the last several years.
The hyperinflation in the country is alleged to have recently surpassed 18,000 percent and some economists predict that it might grow to more than 100,000 percent by the end of the year.
Because of the serious economic issues that many are facing in the region, bartering has quickly become the new economy for many; an increasingly popular method of exchange for the people there.
A variety of chat rooms and Facebook pages have been created that have been helping people to connect with one another and find items that they can trade. These are the sorts of exchanges that you can find taking place:
- parking lot attendants accepting baguettes as payment
- street vendors taking sugar in exchange for flour
- haircuts being exchanged for bananas, eggs, or yuccas
- cigarettes being exchanged for cab rides
- burritos and tacos in exchange for packages of paper napkins
- dishwasher repair services in exchange for spaghetti and beef
Some folks have said that they are a big fan of this method of trading and they are willing to work with their customers when they come in looking for things that they need.
They'll ask what they have available to them for trade, to see if there might be anything that they can come to an agreement on.
One plumber from Venezuela says that he's open to accepting a variety of payments in exchange for his services, things like soda, mayonnaise, sugar, rice, flour, and vegetable oil.
You can now find carpenters, nurses, car wash employees, bus drivers, cab drivers, retailers, and many others, who are eager to participate in this sort of exchange process. The currency has effectively been destroyed in the country but the people have been resilient in their quest to find any solutions to help them survive.
https://imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftimedotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2Fwesley-tomaselli-venezuela-currency-handbag.jpg&w=800&q=85
Some individuals have started taking those failed central bank notes and weaving them into various products to sell for food and other necessities.
You can find them making paper art and handbags that they're selling on the side of the street. One bag that is made with the fiat notes allegedly takes about 8 hours to put together and is made with fiat notes that total less than 50 cents (see image above) and they are sold for roughly $12.
Some other artists say that they've been able to sell their money art for $20. And along with the purses and other art items that have been made, some artists are also painting and drawing on the worthless fiat notes and selling those as well.
The annual inflation rate for Venezuela is alleged to be 10,500 at the moment and they expect that it will surpass 13,000 by the end of this year.
It's estimated that over 1 million people have already fled the country, looking for a better way of life elsewhere. And for many of those who are still living in the region, they still struggle with food shortages, political unrest, scarce medical supplies, and other worries.
In many ways, the authorities in Venezuela have only taken further steps to worsen the problem and speed-up the hyperinflation spiral that they have been going through. Some say that the situation is so unstable that it's practically impossible to try and estimate what the hyperinflation rate for the year might be.
Pics: Reuters via carbonated.tv/news/venezuela-bolivar-devalue-shopkeepers-weighing-money-instead-counting Wes Michael Tomaselli via Time Youtube - via youtube.com/watch?v=OBkmdy6SkmU
Sources: http://fortune.com/2018/05/07/venezuela-bolivar-currency-bartering/ http://time.com/5265941/venezuelan-migrants-bolivares-banknotes/ https://sg.news.yahoo.com/venezuela-inflation-hits-13-779-percent-parliament-says-184515699.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article210282264.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article194511929.html http://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/worthless-currency-becomes-art-venezuela/ https://www.indy100.com/article/venezuela-currency-people-woven-goods-hyperinflation-8209996
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