by the El Reportero’s news services
Raul Castro
Economists had long expected a fresh devaluation; it was inevitable given the country’s excessive reliance on oil revenues, which under President Chávez has risen to account for 93 percent of total export revenues and about half of fiscal revenues.
Despite his stated antipathy to conventional economic measures, the self-proclaimed socialist Chávez never hesitates to implement them when the need arises. And under the Bolivarian Revolution, economic and monetary policy in Venezuela hasn’t shifted a jot away from the typical petro-state merry-go-round of his rightwing predecessors.
The opposition reacted with scorn to the president’s justification of the move as a way to boost the productive economy, saying it was a kick in the stomach for consumers this election year.
Cuba’s economic woes and slow reform could trigger social unrest
Cuba enters 2010 facing a “difficult” year from the economic perspective, President Raúl Castro maintained while closing the biannual session of parliament on Dec. 20.
Castro added that he would not be rushed into introducing improvised and pressured changes. His message last year was almost identical. There are only so many times his government can get away with it before an outbreak of social unrest.
But, with depleting foreign exchange as a result of a slump in nickel exports and tourism earnings, and pressing debt payments, the government has restricted rations and energy consumption and called for yet more belt-tightening, while postponing meaningful reform. Despite tight controls on Internet usage, a burgeoning blogosphere is emerging, and pushing for change.
Ecuador boosts decent salaries
The Ecuadorian government People’’s Revolution will be this week three years, with a salary policy that promotes decent salaries as the foundation to resolve the existing social inequality in the country.
That was an assertion by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa in a radio and television program, referring to the salary increase, from $218 to $240 a month, decreed as one of the fi rst measures to achieve what they call a “decent salary.”
Correa said sought-after equality would be reached with fairer taxes to the people with higher income, and workers should be better paid.
He said no company in Ecuador will be able to declare profits until the last worker has earned $320, an amount that multiplied by 1.6 employees per household would allow acquiring almost all the basic products, estimated at $517 a month.
Labor Relation Minister Richard Espinosa explained that the unified basic salary can be calculated considering three factors: inflation, productivity rate, and increase due to equality.
The recent $22 increase of the basic salary is for all sectors, equivalent to 10 percent, but for artisans, workers of the small-industry, agriculture sector and assembly plants is 30 percent, and 20 percent for household services.
“The objective is to give the capital-work relation an approach aimed at workers’ development and labor justice, based on an integral sustainable structure, with proper legal foundations,” Minister Espinosa said. (Latin News and Prensa Latina contributed to this report).
