Chirimoya said:
Today's
Diario Libre reports that the price of the basic basket of goods ('canasta basica') has gone down by 21%.
The paper also quotes
Leonel as saying "Now it's the turn of those at the lower end (i.e. the poor) to enjoy the fall of the dollar". No one mentions that the poor are also dependent on US$ remittances, but then again they all kept quiet about the relative bonanza they must have enjoyed when the dollar was at RD$55!
I'm not convinced by the so-called strengthening of the peso: even to an economic illiterate like myself it is obvious that it is artificially manipulated, and could result in chaos further down the line. When the peso was at its weakest I enjoyed a good few months of getting RD$80 or more for my GBP1, which allowed me to indulge in many luxuries for far less than their actual market value: supermarket shopping, clothes, toys, school fees, meals out, etc. The current exchange rate is not so favourable, but merely balances it out.
Is there anyone out there who thinks this will last for much longer?
I am also an economics illiterate but
- the "diario libre" report confirms what you can see and hear on the street, in contradiction to so many posts here
- Even if it could be expected that the prices go down further, a 21% drop on basic products have a tremendous impact on people's life
- that's why a vast majority of people hopes it will go down further
- of course all those who have earnings in whatever foreign currency have a enormous and negative impact on their daily life. They are losing more now that they were winning when the peso dropped. Imho they will not recover their pre-hippo purchasing power soon, if ever they do.
About the manipulation, in the same speech Leonel denied (of course he denied, some will say..) any manipulation, and added that the BC had not the power to do that.
In hippo's last year, the scheme was clear: print pesos inorganicos, and sweep all the dollars on the market, at whatever price, it's free anyway, and then take the money and run.
I wish somebody here can explain me:
- how this so-called manipulation works?
- how comes you can buy dollars and why there is no black market, if the rate is manipulated?
The Presidente price has always been ridiculous, the excise reform is just an opportunity to increase it again, as long as ignorant Dominicans will consider it the Marvel of the Beer World it will be so.
Barnab?