Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has responded to what he described as “threats” from the country’s businesses community last week after various companies complained that the government’s new Law on Fair Costs and Prices was unviable and would lead to a scarcity of basic commodities.
Over 4,000 companies have registered their pricing structures with the Venezuelan government’s Automated Price System (Sisap) as part of the latest phase in the new Law of Fair Costs and Prices. The law allows the Venezuelan state to set prices across a range of economic sectors in a bid to ensure access to goods and services for the Venezuelan people and to combat hoarding and price speculation by private companies.
The Venezuelan National Guard and the
Caracas police seized 33 beer delivery trucks bearing the logo of Venezuela's
largest food and beverage producer, Polar, for allegedly selling beer and
liquor illegally in the sprawling low-income barrios of the Venezuelan capital.
