Sovereign or Soverass? (¿Soberano o Soberculo?)
Dear Steemians and Uloggers,
On August 20th Venezuela underwent what Maduro's administration called a "monetary reconversion", which basically means the utter destruction of our once strong currency: the Bolívar. Chávez started to demolition of our currency in 2008 when he removed 3 zeros from the Bolivar and had the balls to rename it Bolívar Fuerte (strong). As a good disciple, who was called to surpass his teacher, Maduro removed 5 zeros of the then not so strong Bolívar and renamed it Soberano. Renaming is probably chavistas' most sovereing manifestation of their tackiness.
What does all this translate into? A devaluation at least proportional to the number of zeros removed. Our biggest bill became our smaller coin. 100.000 VEF became 1 VES and that's how much a fare cost (if you can find a bus that has tires and battery).
This was taken today. Only means of transportation available these days
For 1 VES you can risk your life and that of your family on one of these trucks
Today, i finally put my hands on the fancy new currency. How come it took me so long?
- I refuse to stay in long chaotic lines at the ATMs to get the shameful max withdrawal of 10 VES, enough to buy a canilla (a loaf of bread).
- I refuse to stay in long lines to get to a human teller that will give me maybe 50 VES (enough to buy a dozen eggs or 200 gr of cheese).
This is Banco Mercantil on Monday August 20th (east side)
This is Banco Mercantil on Monday August 20th (south side)
This is Banco de Venezuela on Monday August 20th
This is BanCaribe on Monday August 20th
So, I had to buy for 400% overcharge some 100 VES (10 million of our old Bolivares), an outrageous amount of moeny for an insignificant amount of cash. I don't think I had any other choice. The legal ones are too humiliating. Regular business establishments are not dealing in cash anymore, as they used to. People found a way to do business with cash and it stoped circulating regularly. Our own cannibalism is helping the government destroy us from within.
Will this new currency stop and even reduce inflation? of course not. A carton of eggs (30 eggs) cost 4,500,000.00 in August; now (if you can find them) it costs 80 VES if you pay cash! (that is 8 million of the old Bolivares). If you can find a place where you can pay debit or credit (good luck), then it can be as much as 1,000 VES.
We are talking more than 100% inflation increase a week!
In the next months we will just see our butts whipped by hyperinflation some more and we'll be having another reconversion. There's no question about it. And these new fancy bills will be as good as toilet paper, and cheaper.
Thanks for your visit.
Gracias por tu visita.
Don't forget to support the #ulog innitiative by @surpassinggoogle and make your voice count. Visit ulogs.org and learn about all their projects.
Apoya la iniciativa de #ULOG promovida por @SURPASSINGGOOGLE y haz que tu voz cuente.
Visita ULOGS.ORG y entérate de todos los proyectos y opciones de interacción.
Soy @hlezama y soy parte del #equipocardumen.
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Visita ULOGS.ORG y entérate de todos los proyectos y opciones de interacción.
Soy @hlezama y soy parte del #equipocardumen.
This is amazing. Governments think they can print money and tell you what it's worth, then print it out of existence
Rinse and repeat...
I think it is time for the people to start bartering or using digital currencies. Just say "no" to government paper.
Thank you for the information.
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Un título muy inteligente jajajaja
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:) Imposible evitar el juego de palabras. Pun intended. Saludos, @julioccorderoc
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¡Qué triste realidad, y qué impotencia ante ella! El título, aunque pueda sonar fuerte, logra contraponer el significado hasta evidenciar la realidad que esconde su ejercicio tramposo de la "neolengua": el bolívar "soberano" es, en verdad, la moneda de la entrega de nuestra soberanía como ciudadanos. Gracias por tu post de descarga necesaria. Saludos, @hlezama.
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No podía estar más de acuerdo contigo, @josemalavem.
Hacen falta más descargas para que las decisiones que tanto daño nos hacen no las vean, como hasta ahora las han visto los funcionarios del gobierno, como unas "gracias" en lugar de las morisquetas que realmente son.
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Ciertamente a este gobierno lo que le gusta es el maquillaje y las reconversiones...
Estamos cada día más desorientados en esta economía hiper-inflacionaria y sin frenos.
Qué puedo decirte, @hlezama, eso que estás narrando es el día a día del promedio de todos nosotros.
Seguimos aquí, viviendo lo mejor que podemos.
Saludos y gracias por compartir.
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Gracias a ti por comentar, @sandracabrera. El "vivir viviendo" se está convirtiendo en "vivir muriendo".
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Eso es muy triste. Muy triste.
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Rabia e impotencia son los sentimientos que nos invaden día a día frente a esta realidad espantosa. Considero tu malestar, así estamos todos. Un abrazo, @hlezama.
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Igualmente, @aurodivys. Se que hablo por muchos cuando digo las cosas que dije, y se que muchos tendrían palabras más fuertes aún para expresar su pesar.
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Hi @hlezama!
Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 1.121 which ranks you at #47177 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has improved 29 places in the last three days (old rank 47206).
In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 361 contributions, your post is ranked at #353.
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Thank you, @steem-ua for your support. I'll be taking notes of the tips. I usually engage with my followers through the comments, rarely leave a comment hanging (as it can be evidenced in previous posts).
Very valuable info you provide in this comment; will help keep us focused.
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Leer cosas como esta me hacen sentir afligido, me hace pensar en lo rápido que ha pasado el tiempo y de cómo nos estamos adaptando al voluptuoso desastre y que cada vez quedan menos vestigios de lo que vivimos en un pasado.
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Saludos, @universoperdido. Sí, esa parte es quizás la más aterradora, el perder de vista lo que fuimos, la posibilidad de no volver a esa etapa, que aunque era aún un borrador de progreso, asomaba la posibilidad de cumplir ciertas metas en un tiempo prudencial. Ahora cualquier meta (parar la inflación, por ejemplo--ni siquiera reducirla, solo frenarla) parece ilusorio.
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Muy bien, estimado @hlezama. El mundo tiene que conocer estas cosas. Excelente reportaje fotográfico. Felicitaciones. Abrazos.
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You have my greatest respect for writing about this.
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Thank you, @marillaanne. There are many outrageous things I'd like to document and denounce, unfortunately, it's risky to take out a phone to take pictures in some places. Images always help people to see the issues better.
A brother of mine is planning to leave the country. He is trying to get a bus from where he lives to Caracas (a 9-hour drive), there are no buses avilable. If he wants a ticket he has to pay an outrageous amount of money, a big chunk in har-to-get cash and then trasnfer the whole ticket price value to an intermediary who may or may not guarantee him the ticket. This is Venezuela now; a lawless country. Law works only for the fools, the ones without a godfather in the government.
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Would it be possible to create a network of people who could move him from house to house until her reaches his destination?
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I think we still lack the deperate solidarity of those who made the underground railrad a possibility. Precesily today i have to go to a bus terminal to send him some of the cash i bought in an envelope, paying some "tip" to the driver, hopefully the tip won't be higher than the amount i'm sending.
It's a crazy world this one we live in
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LoL you are a mind reader! I did think "like the underground railway" but also without the covert nature. I was thinking more of repeatedly trying to get to the next nearby city by making connections. For that matter, in that way, one would not be revealing the final destination, only the next stop. Giving gifts or money for compensation would probably still be not just a civility bit a necessity.
I know what I am about to suggest is probably near impossible but if your wife can find fermented food and or raw goat or cow milk, it may very well help her digestion. I have used all three. Also don't eat breads, noodles, sweets, high carb and sugars before bed. Oh and how could I forget several leaves of the lowly dandelion?! But, I don't know if there is even a bit of grass in your area.
Is it even still possible to convert lowly steem to something useful?
Much respect to you and yours.
PS the milk must be raw. All the rest is nearly a poison.
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Thanks for your tips. Ironically, in the town where that brother of mine lives, a very rural, agriculturally rich area, they had access to raw cow milk. But that has changed in the last months.
Unfortunatelly for us here, keeping a diet to the letter is a bit hard. Sometimes you have to eat what is available (not always the healthy stuff), and since it is hard to afford snacks or extra food at night, then she's been complying with that recommendation.
Cumaná is a relatively dry area, but it has some fertile areas. Not sure we can find dandelions around. haven't seen them, but there are other medicinal herbs available. Problem is some city girls just can't stand those concoctions :)
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LoL well the baby dandelion leaves have been known to cost as much as $8/lb here. We eat them in salads. I've heard that the root can be roasted to mock coffee. I've not tried it. I have tired it's cousin, the chicory root. It is a good savory bitter with a slight citrus note. Basically roasting is a slow and very low temp process to avoid over roasting it.
At any point the dandelion leaves and chicory leaves are both good for digestion. It they aren't baby leaves, I've heard that the larger leaves can be wilted over low heat to reduce the bitterness. I've been eating them in salads so long that I don't notice it much.
In short, the current diet is missing little enzymes that help digestion and some say reduce depression.
I can tell you right now, city girls know how to find the necessary strength. When she understands the medicine behind it, she will flip to the herb side and leave you sorting through the notes trying to catch up.
Go with me. It's a good story. It's my story. I'm sure your wife is just as smart.
But you have to remember, it's kind of difficult to convince us city it's not just hocus pocus and wives tales. But ... It can be done. And once it's done, none can drag us backwards.
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Great tips, and better story. I'm sure she'd be able to embrace hocus pocusness. We are just so distresses about so many things... I'll keep trying.
Too tired to psot today, but tomorrow i'll badmouth my country some more. My trip to the terminal was just disastrous. Morally devastating
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