Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 14 december 2017
Venezuelans seeing bitcoin boom as survival, not speculation

By CHRISTINE ARMARIO in Venezuela, not about a
FABIOLA SANCHEZ business opportunity,” he
Associated Press said. The early Venezuelan
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) bitcoin adopters consisted
— In the last month, John largely of engineers and
Villar has bought two plane business leaders, but these
tickets to Colombia, pur- days Useche said he is sur-
chased his wife’s medica- prised by the number of
tion and paid the employ- poor, elderly Venezuelan
ees of his startup business in making small bitcoin pur-
Venezuela — all in bitcoin. chases. While the price of
As Venezuela’s national bitcoin has been highly vol-
currency loses value at a atile, Venezuelans with few
catastrophic rate, thou- or no other means of con-
sands have begun turning verting their bolivars into
to the world of cryptocur- another currency believe it
rency to salvage what little is a safer bet than the Ven-
value remains from their ezuelan bills that steadily
increasingly worthless boli- depreciate from one day
vars. to the next. “More than an
“This is not a matter of poli- asset that right now is ris-
tics,” Villar said. “This is a ing in price, it is a reserve,”
matter of survival.” John Villar speaks during an interview at his office in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Dec. 12, Useche said. Cryptocur-
Both poor Venezuelan re- 2017. In the last month, John Villar has bought two plane tickets to Colombia, purchased his wife’s rencies have become so
tirees and wealthy busi- medication and paid the employees of his startup business in Venezuela - all in bitcoin. fashionable that even Pres-
ness leaders are converting (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) ident Nicolas Maduro has
their bolivars into bitcoins But while bitcoin is a specu- tions on the same website the debt crisis in Greece, proposed a government-
online and then using the lative venture in developed seen in more prosperous hyperinflation in Zimbabwe backed version called the
digital currency to pay for nations, in Venezuela it has nations across the region, and unrest in Ukraine, rising petro, and members of his
everything from doctor become a tool to keep including Argentina, Brazil numbers of distressed citi- administration have met
appointments and honey- families afloat, with some and Chile. zens utilized bitcoin. with Venezuelan bitcoin
moons to motorcycles and Venezuelans purchasing a “Venezuelans are taking In Venezuela, the so-called entrepreneurs to determine
artisanal beer. The trans- small fraction of one coin refuge in digital curren- “crisis currency” is allowing how it might work. Though
actions are relatively swift to build their savings. cies,” said Rafael Useche, desperate Venezuelans to few details have been re-
for anyone with a smart- The number of Venezue- the founder of Colibit. make potentially life-saving leased, many in the bitcoin
phone: Websites like Local- lans using cryptocurrencies One of them is Jorge purchases. Villar has been world have responded
Bitcoin and Colibit function remains unclear, but week- Ochoa, 34, who liquidated unable to find several of skeptically to the idea, say-
as exchanges where Ven- ly bitcoin trading volume part of his bitcoin savings the medications needed ing Venezuelans won’t trust
ezuelans can buy and sell through one popular web- into dollars so that he could to treat his wife’s multiple a digital currency issued by
bitcoins using a local bank site has soared from about take his wife on a honey- sclerosis in Venezuela for a government they have
account. $225,000 earlier this year moon to New York City. the last two years, a story little faith in. Still, bitcoin has
The shift toward cryptocur- to nearly $2.1 million in the The flight toward cryptocur- not uncommon in a coun- its fair share of detractors,
rencies in Venezuela is tak- first week of December — rencies in a nation where try whose public health sys- from Wall Street to Cara-
ing place as the price of this in a country where the inflation in bolivar prices is tem has been crippled by cas. Critics point out that
bitcoin has climbed to a monthly minimum wage projected to surpass 2,000 shortages. Instead, he pur- the digital currency’s lack
peak of more than $17,000 fetches less than $2 on the percent next year falls in chased them abroad with of ties to any bank or gov-
this month. The digital cur- black market. According to line with what has hap- bitcoin and used courier ernment, allowing users to
rency debuted on a major data website Coin Dance, pened in other countries services to deliver them to spend money anonymous-
U.S. exchange with its first that’s far higher than the stricken by war or eco- Venezuela. ly, can facilitate illicit pay-
futures contract Sunday. value of bitcoin transac- nomic collapse. Following “Bitcoin is already, for many ments. q

Mexico leftist front-runner doubles down on amnesty proposal

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Presi- amnesty as a way to rein tions, also proposed creat- in Mexico. Current Presi- of Mexico City to cities in
dential hopeful Andres in Mexico’s violence, which ing a joint military-police dent Enrique Pena Nieto outlying states, to combat
Manuel Lopez Obrador has reached record highs. force and calling it the Na- introduced a new police the country’s centuries-old
doubled down this week Lopez Obrador showed no tional Guard. force based on the French problem of centralization
on his controversial propos- inclination to back away. “The National Guard will model and known as “gen- of power, money and pop-
al to consider amnesty for “We will debate and con- be created to reorganize darmes” who have had lit- ulation in the capital.
criminals as he registered sult, mainly with victims, the and integrate all the mili- tle concrete effect in fight- He proposed building more
to seek the leftist Morena possibility of amnesties for tary and police bodies,” he ing crime. oil refineries to reduce Mex-
party’s nomination for criminals who opt for re- said. Lopez Obrador’s proposal ico’s dependence on U.S.
Mexico’s July 1 election for adapting themselves,” he Human rights groups have for a National Guard ap- plants and called for boost-
president. said. questioned the current pears to invoke compari- ing agriculture to make
As the front-runner in elec- Critics have said such am- practice of using Mexican sons to the U.S. military Mexico self-dependent in
tion polls, he is assured to nesties don’t work and en- soldiers and marines in po- force, which is sometimes basic foodstuffs.
win his party’s nomina- courage gangs to be vio- lice roles for which they used in domestic situations The country currently im-
tion, though the two-time lent. have not been trained. like riots or disasters. ports much of its feed
contender has already at- Lopez Obrador, who lost But critics have also ques- Lopez Obrador also pro- grains, meat and other
tracted skepticism by men- by thin margins in the 2006 tioned the lack of a co- posed moving most federal products from the United
tioning the possibility of and 2012 presidential elec- herent anti-crime strategy government offices out States.q