Pension hike not enough for Venezuelans to afford basic food | Associated Press

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Sequera, 72, and González, 74, worked for years as a seamstress and driver to build their two houses and raise their four children. But now, after 50 years of marriage, they rely on donations for food, medicines and clothing.

CARACAS, Venezuela—When lunchtime comes, Maybel Sequera and Juan González share a plate of noodles and beans at their home in a low-income neighborhood west of Venezuela’s capital. Their meager lunch was a gift from a nonprofit organization, as the couple cannot afford to feed themselves.

“Now that they have increased us to 130 , we are going to see how we manage with those 130 because it is not enough either,” Sequera said referring to the pension in bolívares, Venezuela’s official currency and in which pensions are paid. The pensions of Sequera, González and millions of other similarly situated retirees went up last month because President Nicolás Maduro increased the monthly minimum wage from roughly $2 to about $30, an amount insufficient to pay basic goods, whose cost in February was estimated at $365, according to the Venezuelan Finance Observatory, an organization specializing in economic studies.

This dynamic leaves many older adults dependent on remittances from the more than six million Venezuelans who have migrated due to the economic, political and social crises of recent years. In other South American countries, pensions range from $230 to $650, but the amounts are also usually below the cost of a basket of basic goods or the monthly minimum wage. In Chile, new President Gabriel Boric promised to raise the amount to $310, although it will remain below the $435 monthly minimum wage.

 

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