As inflation devastates Venezuela, artists make purses and paintings out of bills
Jesus Campos finishes making a purse made entirely of Venezuelan bol铆var bills May 4 in his apartment in Cucuta, Colombia. The artist used 800 bank notes, 100-bo铆ivar bills and 20-bol铆var bills.
Manuel Rueda
C脷CUTA, COLOMBIA
In a windowless apartment on the outskirts of this Colombian border town, Jes煤s Campos puts the final stitches on his latest creation: A violet and khaki handbag made exclusively from Venezuela鈥檚 rapidly depreciating currency.
The bag is made with 800 Venezuelan听bol铆var bills that have been carefully folded in rectangles and woven together in a geometric pattern. They are so tightly packed that water can鈥檛 get through, and the bag feels similar to fake leather.听
In Venezuela, the bol铆var听bills used to make this purse wouldn鈥檛 be enough to purchase a coffee, says Mr. Campos. In Colombia, he can fetch around $10 for the handbag 鈥� enough to buy two pounds of chicken and three pounds of rice.
Why We Wrote This
Economic crises like Venezuela's upturn lives, but that doesn't mean creativity disappears. Some Venezuelan artists are making a point 鈥� and art 鈥� out of the country's now near-worthless currency.
鈥淚 never thought our currency would be so useless that I鈥檇 be working with it鈥� as a material, says the young artisan. He moved across the border to Colombia with his wife and children earlier this year in search of a more stable听life.
鈥淣ow the only way you can give听bol铆vares value is by turning them into art,鈥� he says.
Campos鈥� handmade bol铆var听accessories 鈥� he also makes wallets and belts 鈥� are a shining example of the resourcefulness of some Venezuelans, desperate to make ends meet. But they鈥檙e also a dramatic indicator of just how steep inflation is 鈥� and how worthless the country鈥檚 currency has become.
Economists in Venezuela and the US estimate that over the past 12 months, the inflation rate has soared to more than 16,000 percent, with prices for some goods doubling every 18 days.
A carton of 30 eggs, which cost 5,000听bol铆vares at the beginning of last year, now sells for approximately 2 million. A pound of chicken will set you back more than 1 million听bol铆vares in Venezuela, or about 40 percent of the current monthly minimum wage.
This type of hyperinflation makes Venezuela鈥檚 currency a problem for merchants: It requires bags full of 100 or even 1,000听bol铆var bills to pay for simple household items.听
鈥淪ometimes I buy the bills up from people who can鈥檛 use them anymore,鈥� Campos says. 鈥淏ut sometimes Venezuelans who are coming into Colombia see my work, appreciate it and give me a bunch of bills for free.鈥�
Jos茅 Luis Le贸n, a graphic designer in the Venezuelan city of San Crist贸bal, draws Japanese comic-book听characters, scenes from Star Wars movies, and images depicting Venezuela鈥檚 most emblematic tourist attractions on听bol铆var notes of all sizes, including the recently issued 20,000 bill.
Mr. Le贸n听then posts pictures on Instagram with a hashtag that translates to 鈥淒evalued Venezuela.鈥澨�
鈥淚f I give you one of these bills, you will go out there and do nothing with it,鈥� Le贸n听says in his studio, where he spends long nights working on his drawings. He frames finished products in wood and glass cases.
鈥淲hen I get a bill and turn it into art 鈥� it tells you the story of what this country is going through,鈥� he says.
Le贸n听has received international recognition for his work, selling pieces to Venezuelans living in the United States, Colombia, and as far away as Switzerland. The work sells for anywhere from US$2 to $100.听
The bills are transformed into pop art, political protest, or simply souvenirs for Venezuelans who have left the country. It all depends on how he decorates them with his markers and paint.
鈥淗aving one of these bills is like having a little piece of our country with you,鈥�听Le贸n says.
Printing to plug the deficit
Venezuela鈥檚 inflation stems from years of economic mismanagement, says Antonio Ecarri, director of the Arturo Uslar Pietri think tank in Caracas. Former President Hugo Ch谩vez, who rode a wave of sky-high oil prices during most of his time in office, spent heavily on social programs in and outside the country, but did little to build up the nation鈥檚 coffers.
Nicol谩s Maduro, Chavez鈥檚 handpicked successor, inherited the same spending patterns, but听within two years听of his presidency, the price of oil dropped by half.听
As a result, Venezuela has turned to printing more money to keep up with government expenditures and plug a growing deficit, Mr. Ecarri says.
Venezuela鈥檚 total money supply rose by 5,000 percent over the past 12 months, says Caracas-based economist Asdr煤bal Oliveros, fueling inflation to levels that have become so 鈥渃razy鈥� that many businesses now conduct transactions in euros and US dollars.
Some see a solution in this, with analysts like Ecarri suggesting Venezuela adopt the US dollar as its official currency. The strategy has worked for several developing countries dealing with high inflation, from Ecuador to Montenegro.
It takes 鈥渁way this possibility of politicians going to the central bank and telling it to turn on the press,鈥� says Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at John Hopkins University, who helped Ecuador to dollarize in 2001.听
But some say dollarizing an economy that鈥檚 heavily dependent on oil exports is not the best solution.
Mr. Olivares says that if Venezuela stops printing its own money, it would not be able to use monetary policy to increase imports or boost domestic consumption. That would make the country听vulnerable if oil prices fell.
鈥淒ollarization isn鈥檛 the only way to stop inflation,鈥� Olivares says. 鈥淥ther countries have done it with serious adjustments, that include putting public spending under control.鈥�
But as President Maduro heads into elections on听May 20听鈥� a vote that鈥檚 been decried by governments around the region as undemocratic 鈥� his focus on solutions lies elsewhere. Maduro blames 鈥渕afias鈥� trying to overthrow his government with destabilizing the economy.
He鈥檚 ordered the inspection of thousands of supermarkets and promised to nationalize stores that
In March, Maduro announced that the government will strike three zeros off all prices 鈥� and wages 鈥� by next month. He also said the central bank will issue a new set of听bol铆vares that will have fewer zeros on them.
鈥淲e might be able to count prices easier,鈥� says Oliveros of the government鈥檚 announced plans. 鈥淏ut if inflation continues at the same rate, those new bills will soon become useless.鈥澨�
It would give artisans like Campos and Le贸n more raw material to work with, though.
鈥淢y plan now is to make a shirt and some pants out of bol铆vares, and go to tourist areas to sell my purses,鈥� Campos says of his future business plans. 鈥淭he only way we will stop doing this is if the听bol铆var regains its value.鈥澨�