Venezuela: Teachers march for better wages as inflation soars

• Venezuela’s inflation is reported to have reached 305 percent last year.
• Teachers marched in Zulia and Lara.
• A public school teacher’s minimum monthly salary is around $10.

Teachers, retirees, and labor unions have marched in at least six Venezuelan cities to demand better wages as President Nicolas Maduro’s government faces new obstacles in its bid to combat inflation.

According to a voluntary group of economists who analyze indices in the absence of official statistics, Venezuela’s inflation is reported to have reached 305 percent last year.

Since March of last year, the government has not altered the salaries of public-sector employees as part of measures to decrease spending and raise taxes, allowing Venezuela to escape from hyperinflation.

However, in the second half of last year, demand for foreign currency outstripped the central bank’s weekly supply of dollars, causing the Venezuelan bolivar to devalue even further.

A public school teacher’s minimum monthly salary is around $10, whereas university professors receive between $60 and $80.

“Our salaries are peanuts.”

“I earn 460 bolivars [about $23] every month,” said Odalis Aguilar, a 50-year-old teacher who marched in Maracay on Monday. “We require a living wage.”

Teachers and public sector workers in the central state of Carabobo also demonstrated, claiming that their incomes do not cover the cost of food and medicine.

“Our food is carbohydrates, little protein, few veggies, it is extremely basic,” said Reina Sequera, a lecturer at the University of Carabobo and the primary breadwinner for her three-person family. “We can’t even afford aspirin.”

Economic instability is caused by US sanctions imposed on the government, claimed governing party Vice President Diosdado Cabello in remarks broadcast on state television.

Teachers marched in Zulia and Lara, two western states.

Over the weekend, the government awarded a bonus of $29.80 to public employees.

The bonus “does not reach $30. Is that what Maduro lives on? You’re throwing us crumbs,” said Gladys Chacon, president of the Tachira College of Teachers.

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