CARACAS, Venezuela — President Nicolas Maduro announced a boost in
wages Wednesday night and dismissed talk of currency devaluation as he
tries to pull oil-dependent Venezuela out of a recession and quell
mounting frustration with his socialist policies.
In a much-anticipated annual address to the legislature, Maduro avoided the dramatic reengineering of price and currency controls that economists say is needed to avoid a triple-digit inflationary spiral.
Through nearly three hours of optimistic rhetoric embellished by props and a video, he repeated accusations that the opposition is sabotaging the economy and urged Venezuelans to hold faith that government programs will continue despite a nearly 60 percent fall in the price of oil, virtually the country's only export.
He unveiled a new round of social spending, including promises to raise wages and pensions 15 percent, deliver 400,000 new homes for the poor and increase grants for students.
The only hint that the embattled leader was considering a turn toward austerity were proposals to increase gasoline prices and add transparency to the multi-tiered currency exchange rate system blamed by economists for much of the South American country's economic troubles.
Read more Click here / www.trade4x.net
In a much-anticipated annual address to the legislature, Maduro avoided the dramatic reengineering of price and currency controls that economists say is needed to avoid a triple-digit inflationary spiral.
Through nearly three hours of optimistic rhetoric embellished by props and a video, he repeated accusations that the opposition is sabotaging the economy and urged Venezuelans to hold faith that government programs will continue despite a nearly 60 percent fall in the price of oil, virtually the country's only export.
He unveiled a new round of social spending, including promises to raise wages and pensions 15 percent, deliver 400,000 new homes for the poor and increase grants for students.
The only hint that the embattled leader was considering a turn toward austerity were proposals to increase gasoline prices and add transparency to the multi-tiered currency exchange rate system blamed by economists for much of the South American country's economic troubles.
Read more Click here / www.trade4x.net
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