Venezuela’s National Assembly Reports Inflation at 4,099 Percent Over 12 Months

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Venezuela closed July with a 12-month inflation rate of 4,099 percent, up from June’s rate, according to a report released on Wednesday by the opposition-majority National Assembly.

The yearly rate stood at 3,524 percent in June, down from 3.684 percent in May, according to the monthly report prepared by the parliament since 2017 due to the limited availability of figures from the authoritarian Nicolás Maduro regime.

Inflation in July closed at 55.05 percent, exceeding the 19.5 percent recorded in June, said opposition deputy Alfonso Marquina, a member of the Legislative Finance Committee, during an online press conference.

Meanwhile, the accumulated inflation between January and July stood at 843.44 percent in the Caribbean country, which suffers the highest inflation in the world, the report adds.

In Venezuela, which has been plunged into the worst economic crisis in its modern history and is heading into its seventh consecutive recession year, the bolivar “lost its exchange function” as a result of its depreciation, said Marquina, noting that the dollar has become the de facto common currency of the country.

In late April, Maduro’s government increased by 77.7 percent the minimum income – the sum of the basic wage and a mandatory food allowance – the second increase this year. Despite this, it is currently equivalent to US$2.80 (R$14) per month, which is not enough to buy a kilo of meat (US$4).

An average family of four needs US$213 per month to purchase a basic basket that includes food, services, and medicine, Marquina said.

According to the Living Conditions Survey (ENCOVI ), conducted by three of the country’s main universities, four out of five Venezuelans are unable to afford the food basket.

Venezuela closed 2019 with 9,585 percent inflation, according to the Central Bank, which is higher than the Parliament’s estimated 7,374.4 percent for the same period.

Humanitarian aid

On Tuesday, Venezuela received 13 tons of humanitarian aid from the European Union (EU), which will be distributed to several hospitals in the country by the Red Cross to treat conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and asthma.

“We are receiving a shipment of 13 tons consisting of hospital and pediatric kits,” Venezuelan Red Cross communications director Luis Farias told EFE upon receiving part of the aid in Caracas.

“These supplies are coming now thanks to donations from the European Union. The Venezuelan Red Cross is calling for non-politicization of the aid,” he added, recalling that the Venezuelan government and the opposition are blaming each other for the country’s crisis.

Likewise, Farias said that the cargo, which will be distributed to eight hospitals and 34 outpatient clinics, contains basic items “for the assistance of medical personnel” of the Red Cross, which is currently dedicating most of its efforts to containing Covid-19 in Venezuela.

According to the latest official report, 26,800 people in the South American country have been infected with the coronavirus SARS-COV-2, which causes Covid-19, of which 229 have died.

Source: AFP, EFE