Nobody can buy a can of tuna with the minimum wage in Venezuela . The income is 5,196,000 bolivars or 1.5 dollars a month at the unofficial exchange rate (about 1.3 euros). He was crowned the worst in South America in the Government of Nicolás Maduro. "Who survives with that? We are forced to get extra money, "says Luis Martinez, an electrician employed at a state institute.
MORE INFORMATION
How many days do you have to work in Venezuela to buy a kilo of chicken?
The war that nurses are waging daily in Venezuela
Colombia seizes 400 tons of food in poor condition with destination Venezuela
His affirmation is demonstrated with studies. The National Survey of Living Conditions (Encovi) corresponding to the year 2017 and published in February indicates that the economic depression has pushed Venezuelans to "over-employ" informally in order to feed themselves.
At the end of his working day, Martínez provides services in Caracas independently. His fixed salary is for the purchase of a kilogram of cheese , while with the other income he buys grains and vegetables. In 1991, after a decade of work, he bought a house with his settlement money. "If they liquidate me now, with 14 years of service, I would not have enough money to buy a blender," he says.
It is a dramatic situation. More than 70% of workers with formal employment receive the minimum wage. Many change to other higher-paid sectors or leave their jobs . Only six out of 10 workers are employed in the formal area, several surveys indicate.
Towards the end of June, José Ibarra, a teacher at the Central University of Venezuela, posted a photograph of his worn-out shoes on Twitter. "My salary as a university professor is not enough to pay the change of sole, they cost 20 million," he wrote. They are 5.8 dollars today, but in the next few days it will be even less because of the devaluation of the bolivar . "It is difficult to decide on what to spend the money. I make a list of priorities, but they are always many and I do not cover any, "says Ibarra. His last salary he spent on vegetables and with that he fed for a few days.
The minimum wage is paid in two parts, three million in cash and the rest in a food bonus that is entered into a card called cestaticket . You can not buy a packet of cookies, although with that amount five years ago you could stock a grocery store.
Maduro has increased the minimum wage four times this year and about 23 during his term (since April 2013). But the adjustments only accentuate the shortage. The desperation to spend the bolivars is instantaneous once a salary increase has been decreed because the po[CENSORED]tion already knows the outbursts of hyperinflation. "If they say that the salary goes up today, tomorrow all the triple of expensive appears", explains the professor. Nutritionists Pablo Hernández and his wife, Claret Mata, offer remote counseling to patients who emigrated due to the crisis. They only need a computer with Internet to connect with them through Skype. Their clients pay for each consultation about 10 dollars or the equivalent in bolivars. In this way, the couple receives income that alleviates their economic situation.
This is a practice that has increased among professionals in the country. "Consultations from abroad are sporadic, but they are a lifeline," says Hernández. He and his wife are full-time university professors, but with their salaries they can not buy food for a whole month. The payment of a consultation of an hour online represents ten times his salary in the university. The crisis has also shaped their lives. "We want to have a child, but we can not keep it. We have decided not to have it for now, "he adds.
Food bonuses
In February, Maduro admitted that wages are insufficient, but he tried to camouflage it with the monthly delivery of a box of food subsidized by his Government through the well-known Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP). But the amount included in the box is not enough for a family. In addition, some of the products do not have a minimum level of quality. In May, Colombia seized 400 tons of food destined for CLAPs in a port of Cartagena because there were products that were not fit for human consumption.
Venezuela maintains the worst financial performance in the world. According to the Property Observatory of the Economic Knowledge Dissemination Center, more than 60 multinationals have left the country or have reduced their operations since 2005.
Government control reaches the point of deciding who charge more for their trade. Doctors, nurses and university professors demand that their salaries be matched with those earned by high-ranking military personnel. But the Executive has ignored this request.