Economics
Venezuelans Break Off Flakes of Gold to Pay for Meals, Haircuts
- Hyperinflation has stripped the local currency of its value
- Dollars, pesos, reais and euros are also common alternatives
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To fathom the magnitude of Venezuela’s financial collapse, travel southeast from Caracas, past the oil fields and over the Orinoco River, and head deep into the savanna that blankets one of the remotest corners of the country.
There, in the barber shops and restaurants and hotels that constitute the main strip of one dusty little outpost after another, you’ll find prices displayed in grams of gold.