The Venezuelan government on Monday began to issue new bank notes to replace the 100 bolivar bill, made virtually worthless by hyperinflation.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced early last month that new notes would be issued to replace the old ones, a measure that promised to lighten the load for many Venezuelans, who must carry around bags of cash for even the simplest transactions.
The 100 bolivar note is worth about US$0.028 at Monday’s black market rate.
Photo: EPA
The new notes range from 500 to 20,000 bolivars, and the largest of the bills is worth about US$5.60 on the black market.
However, they were not available everywhere on Monday.
One bank received only the 500 bolivar bills and had run out by 2pm.
Although the move was intended to make life simpler, there was chaos in the middle of last month when Maduro abruptly announced that the 100 bolivar notes would be removed from circulation.
The reason was that organized crime groups were hoarding those bills, he said.
Venezuelans rushed to exchange their bills, only to find that banks refused to accept them because they had no larger bills to offer in exchange.
There were outbreaks of looting, and some people even burned the 100 bolivar notes, believing they were nothing more than paper after Maduro’s announcement.
Maduro was forced to relent and allowed the 100 bolivar notes to remain in place.
He blamed his political opponents for the delay, as well as the US, which he said had prevented cargo planes carrying the new bills from reaching Venezuela.
Finally, on Sunday, Maduro said the new bank notes would be phased in beginning on Monday. The 100 bolivar note is to remain in circulation until Feb. 20.
The new deadline appeared to head off any panic on Monday, and it gives the government time to introduce the new notes.
Some bank customers did not even know that the new notes were being introduced. Although Maduro announced the measure last month, the new notes were dated Aug. 18 last year.
“The central bank had probably taken the decision to release new bills and coins,” economist Asdrubal Oliveros said.
“Since the central bank doesn’t act independently here, it had to wait for the OK from the national government, he said.”
“Venezuela needed new bills and coins two years ago,” he added. “It is a measure that has been delayed for a long time. The technical decision was in some way conditioned to a political decision.”
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