“Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro announced a 30 percent increase to the
country's minimum wage and food stamps Thursday in Bolivar state.”
“The
increase will be implemented on Nov. 1. This is the fourth minimum
wage increase this year, and the 30th minimum wage increase over the
last 15 years. According to Maduro, Venezuela's minimum wage has
nearly doubled over the last year, which is higher than the level of
inflation.”
“Maduro
made his announcement from the Sidor steel plant in Bolivar state,
Venezuela's largest steel corporation. The company was privatized in
1997 under then President Rafael Caldera, and then renationalized by
former President Hugo Chavez in 2008. Venezuelan workers greeted
Maduro at the plant.”
“During
his speech, Maduro criticized the privatizations of past governments
and fiscal adjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund. In
particular, he commented on the release of a recording of a call
between the president of Venezuela's largest beer manufacturer and a
Venezuelan Harvard economics professor who are looking to implement a
'fiscal ajustment plan for Venezuela' with loans from the IMF and
World Bank.”
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