Caracas Chronicles

• The president of the Caracas Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services Leonardo Palacios said that the lack of public debate on the tax on big transactions (IGTF) caused confusion and improvisation so the end result has been “total chaos”.
  • The president of Fedecámaras, Carlos Fernández, said that there’s a possibility to make modifications to the IGTF, calling the law “almost impossible to abide by” for the lack of preparation, information and gray areas in the law. Fernández said that two changes can be made to diminish the impact: define who’s a special contributor, rule out common citizens, and exonerate some products. 
  • The general manager of SENIAT Carlos Padrón Rocca said that everyone had to pay, since transactions made via Zelle, PayPal and reserve will pay the IGTV. Even the negative impact is evident, chavismo insists on saying it’s been great. 

• Hyperinflation is over, in theory, but the Venezuelan Observatory of Finance, inflation in March was 10.5%, six times more than February, 1.7%. Annual inflation is 251%, so far. 
• The Venezuelan Observatory of Finance estimates that the increase can be explained by the “appreciation” of the bolivar and the dollar, since the average exchange rate decreased by 4.63 bolivars per dollar versus 4.50, 2.8%. 

The inflation of March already ate the purchasing power of the new minimum wage: you’ll need 10 minimum wages to buy the food basket now. 

• CITGO reported losses of 160 million dollars by the end of 2021. They reported it’s because its main refinery in Texas didn’t work for two weeks. 
• The president of Aragua’s United Transportation Guild José Luis Trocel assured that the sector is in talks with the Transportation Ministry to increase the fee to Bs. 3 per ride. He warned that chavismo negotiates but never agrees to anything and reiterated that the sector needs guarantees of access to subsidized fuel. 
• CEOFANB Commander Domingo Hernández Lárez said that they strengthened the actions to prevent sabotage of strategic facilities. 
•  Minister Remigio Ceballos reported the fire in El Ávila is under control. Fireman chief Claudio Martínez said that 2,000 to 3,000 ha. have been affected. 
• Fundación Bengoa’s most recent report revealed that rural areas were the most impacted by malnourishment in the first quarter of 2022. 

Foro Penal said that Yanomami citizens who witnessed the murder of four members of their tribe in Amazonas in March were taken to the military hospital and nobody let their lawyer know. 

• Captain Juan Carlos Caguaripano, who’s been in jail since 2017, should have been taken to a hearing in court yesterday but the authorities didn’t move him. Caguaripano has been the victim of torture. 
• Súmate asked the National Electoral Council for the necessary actions to guarantee 7 million Venezuelans’ right to vote and be elected for public office. That’s the number of people in the country and abroad who need to update or register for the electoral registry.