01/15/2024 – 20:30
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced, this Monday (15), an increase to 100 dollars (R$ 487) in the monthly bonuses that supplement workers' income, without increasing the minimum wage, which does not reach 4 dollars (R$20).
The last increase in the minimum wage was decreed in 2022, when it was equivalent to around 30 dollars (R$146). Last year, Maduro created these bonuses that do not impact social benefits (paid vacations or bonuses), nor do they benefit retirees.
“The 100 dollars [R$ 487] of the indexed full minimum income will be 60 dollars [R$ 292] the economic war bonus, and 40 dollars [R$ 195] the Cestaticket [bônus de alimentação]”, he announced during the accountability in Parliament.
The increases will take effect from February, and will not be inclusive of all workers. The food bonus is mandatory by law, but the “economic war” bonus is only received by those registered in the government subsidy system.
Public employees, who also staged protests this Monday, demand that salaries be dollarized, at a time when the cost of a basic food basket exceeds 500 dollars (R$2,437) per month.
Experts maintain that the government did not want to increase salaries as part of a policy to reduce inflation, which closed 2023 at 189.8%, according to official figures, lower than the 234% recorded in the previous year and the 686.4% in 2021. , when the country overcame hyperinflation.
The government blames international sanctions for the crisis. It is “a titanic effort that we are making” for these increases, said Maduro, who promised more increases in the future.
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