Venezuela Teachers March Asking for Higher Pay Amid Sky-Hight Inflation

By BERT HOOVER First Posted: Jan 16, 2023 11:13 PM EST

The government of President Nicolas Maduro is facing renewed problems in its attempt to fight inflation. In response, Venezuela teachers, retirees, and workers' organizations have marched in at least six towns to demand higher compensation.

According to a non-governmental group of economists that estimate indicators in the absence of official statistics, Venezuela inflation reached an estimated 305% last year, per Al Jazeera.

As part of its attempts to decrease spending and increase taxes, which allowed Venezuela to emerge from hyperinflation, the government has not increased salaries for public-sector employees since March last year.

However, the bolivar lost further value in the second half of last year as demand for foreign currency exceeded the weekly supply of dollars provided by the central bank.

Public school teachers earn a starting wage of around $10 per month, whereas university professors make between $60 and $80.

"Our salaries are peanuts. I earn 460 bolivars a month [about $23]," said Odalis Aguilar, a 50-year-old teacher who marched in the city of Maracay on Monday. "We need a living wage."

Venezuela teachers and other public sector employees in the central state of Carabobo also staged protests as their salaries were insufficient to cover basic needs like food and medicine.

Reina Sequera, a University of Carabobo professor and sole provider for her family of three, has described their diet as "very basic," consisting primarily of carbohydrates with no protein and very few vegetables. "We can't even afford acetaminophen," she said.

During an interview on state television, Vice President of the ruling party Diosdado Cabello blamed economic turmoil on U.S. sanctions.

The western states of Zulia and Lara also saw teacher demonstrations.

San Cristobal, the capital of the border state Tachira, also saw a large turnout of Venezuela teachers for its March.

Government Pays $29.80 Bonus to Public Employees

The public employees received a bonus of $29.80 from the government over the weekend, according to Reuters.

The government has attempted to quell such demonstrations with handouts and bonus payments numerous times, but its limited resources prevent it from being very generous.

The bonus "does not reach $30. Is that what Maduro lives on? You're throwing us crumbs," said Gladys Chacon, president of the Tachira College of Teachers.

As measured by Bloomberg's own Cafe con Leche index, the price of a cup of coffee increased by 53% in December.

The Venezuelan government has yet to release official inflation numbers since last October.

"I am sick and have no health insurance or money to pay for the scans I need," said Heyra Vega, 49, claiming they are tired of their situation.

Many Private Sectors Employee in Venezuela Enjoy U.S. Dollars

Nicolas Maduro's socialist government allowed the dollar to move freely in the hopes of recovering from the global economic downturn between 2013 and 2020.

However, while many private sector workers are being paid in dollars and enjoying improved living conditions, public sector workers whose wages are still denominated in inflation-hit bolivar are left suffering, said Bloomberg.

Preliminary estimates from the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, which monitors social unrest in the country, suggest that workers planned at least 50 rallies on Monday and more than 150 nationwide in the last week.

Protesters ripped and stomped on bolivars during Monday's protest, yelling that they demanded good pay to remain in their country.

There have been around seven million emigrations from Venezuela in the past few years.

Carlos Julio Rojas, an activist who attended the March, stated, "Protests are daily in Caracas, but with 40 or 50 people," claiming that the last protest of that caliber happened in 2019.

Nicolas Maduro may be hesitant to initiate another brutal crackdown. More than a billion dollars in assets have been frozen because of U.S. sanctions against him, and another round of violence might result in Washington blocking his access to these funds.