Facing Rampant Inflation, Venezuela's President Hikes Minimum Wage

04:41

May 03, 2016

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gestures at supoorters during a demonstration in Caracas on April 19, 2016.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's six-year term reaches midpoint on Tuesday, a date few have been anticipating more eagerly than the country's opposition, which will now be able to initiate a recall referendum. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gestures at supoorters during a demonstration in Caracas on April 19, 2016. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's six-year term reaches midpoint on Tuesday, a date few have been anticipating more eagerly than the country's opposition, which will now be able to initiate a recall referendum. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)

Last weekend, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raised his country's minimum wage by 30 percent. It's the twelfth such increase since Maduro succeeded Hugo Chavez three years ago. But his critics say the wage increases do little to fight the skyrocketing inflation that has caused economic chaos in Venezuela, where there are long lines for basic supplies and smuggling has become a popular vocation.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Girish Gupta, a Reuters journalist based in Caracas.

Guest

Girish Gupta, Reuters journalist based in Caracas. He tweets @jammastergirish.

This segment aired on May 3, 2016.