Venezuela struggles to tame triple-digit inflation

Consumers find it near-impossible to find enough cash. Snaking queues are forming outside ATMs in Caracas as people go from machine to machine to withdraw whatever is available, further irking those already struggling with scarcities. “I have to go to five, six, sometimes seven teller machines to be able to buy something, whatever there’s left at the market,” charges Ayaric Ramos, a housewife in Caracas. To make matters worse, last week the credit and debit card payment system froze up. In a time-honoured tradition, the embattled Socialist president blamed a “cyber attack” and ordered a raid on the offices of Credicard, which processes payments for Visa and MasterCard. More…