Venezuelan monetary and currency stability debates

Discussions regarding monetary stability and currency usage in Venezuela have emerged from different economic perspectives.

José Gregorio Rodríguez, president of the National Council of Trade and Services (Consecomercio), proposed a bimonetary system where the bolívar and the U.S. dollar circulate simultaneously. This model, inspired by Peru, aims to avoid full dollarization to ensure the Central Bank retains its ability to manage economic imbalances. Rodríguez noted that while a transition might cause an initial inflationary shock, the country’s status as an oil producer could support such a model.

In the Táchira region, economic instability has led to calls for different regulatory actions. Edgar Medina, president of the Association of Livestock Producers of Táchira (Asogata), has urged authorities to ban the use of the Colombian peso in border transactions to prevent speculation. Medina reported that local businesses are acting as informal exchange houses, causing producers to lose approximately 25% in exchange value. Conversely, analyst William Gómez argued against a ban, suggesting that the peso acts as a financial safeguard against the devaluation of the bolívar and that the region should instead focus on the formal reactivation of exchange houses.