委內瑞拉通脹危機 商店收款不是點鈔而是稱重

Inflation in Venezuela is expected to reach 720 percent this year, with the largest bolívar bill now worth just five US cents on the black market.

委內瑞拉的通貨膨脹今年預計將達到720%，在黑市上，最大面值的玻利瓦爾幣現在僅值5美分。

Some shopkeepers have reportedly taken to weighing rather than counting the wads of cash customers hand them, and standard-size wallets have become all but useless in the socialist South American state.

據報道，如今正常尺寸的錢包在這個南美社會主義國家已經徹底派不上用場了，顧客付款時店主不會點鈔，而是給大把大把的現金稱重。

Instead, many people stuff huge volumes of cash into handbags, money belts, or backpacks, in scenes analysts have said are suggestive of "runaway" inflation.

許多人將大量鈔票塞滿手袋、腰包或揹包。分析人士指出，這種情形是通貨膨脹失控的徵兆。

In 2014, plummeting global oil prices decimated Venezuela's economy.

2014年，全球石油價格暴跌使委內瑞拉經濟遭受重創。

President Nicolás Maduro responded by fixing the official exchange rate and ordering banks to print more cash, which ultimately devalued the currency further, while goods prices soared.

該國總統尼古拉斯.馬杜羅爲此固定官方匯率，命令銀行印製更多鈔票，而這些應對措施最終導致貨幣進一步貶值，商品價格飆升。

The country of 30 million does not publish consumer-price data on a regular basis, but observers have said scenes on the streets of the capital, Caracas, are reminiscent of the past century's most chaotic cases of hyperinflation.

擁有3000萬人口的委內瑞拉並未定期公佈消費者價格指數，但是目擊者稱，該國首都加拉斯加街頭的場景讓人聯想到上世紀最混亂的惡性通脹危機。

Humberto Gonzalez, who runs a delicatessen in the city, said he uses the same scales to weigh slices of salty white cheese and the stacks of bolívar notes handed over by his customers.

溫貝託.岡薩雷斯在加拉斯加經營一家熟食店，他說自己用稱鹹味兒白奶酪的稱去計算顧客給他的成堆的玻利瓦爾幣。

"It’s sad," Mr Gonzalez told Bloomberg. "At this point, I think the cheese is worth more."

可悲的是，我認爲奶酪更值錢， 岡薩雷斯對彭博社表示。

Jesus Casique, a consulting firm director, told the news site that although weighing cash was not ubiquitious, it was indicative of a financial crisis.

傑西.克拉斯科是一家諮詢公司的主管，他對彭博社表示，雖然給現金稱重的景象並非隨處可見，但這也是金融危機的預兆。

"When they start weighing cash, it’s a sign of runaway inflation," he said.

他說，人們開始給現金稱重，就是通貨膨脹失控的標誌，

"But Venezuelans don’t know just how bad it is because the government refuses to publish figures."

但委內瑞拉人不知道情況有多糟，因爲政府拒絕公佈通脹數據。

Oil makes up a staggering 95 percent of Venezuela's exports, and accounts for a quarter of the country's economy, with oil-related revenues having historically supplied roughly half the government budget.

石油出口在委內瑞拉的出口總額中佔比高達95%，佔該國經濟總額的1/4。數據顯示，委內瑞拉約一半的財政預算來源於與石油有關的稅收。

This kind of over-reliance on a single export notoriously depresses all other industries in a country, in a phenomenon known by economists as "Dutch Disease".

衆所周知，這種過分依賴單一產品出口的經濟模式會遏制該國其他行業的發展，經濟學家將這種現象稱爲荷蘭病。

When the price of oil on the global market collapsed by two-thirds in 2014, Venezuela had little else to fall back on, so a natural reaction would have been for the bolívar to collapse.

2014年，全球市場石油價格暴跌2/3，這讓委內瑞拉的經濟失去了依靠，玻利瓦爾幣自然會因此貶值。

But Mr Maduro, who succeeded Hugo Chávez following the revolutionary leader's death in 2013, instead tried to control the exchange rate, creating a massive black market for currency.

但革命領袖雨果.查維斯2013年去世後，接任總統的馬杜羅沒有采取控制貨幣匯率的措施，反而成就了一個巨大的貨幣黑市。

Figuring out scams to get dollars and then sell them for bolívars became hugely lucrative business for Venezuelans, setting off a feedback loop that drove the inflation rate higher and higher.

對於委內瑞拉人來說，設局套取美金，然後將其兌換成玻利瓦爾幣成了非常有利可圖的生意。這個惡性循環讓通貨膨脹率越來越高。

In one of Caracas richer neighbourhoods, the owner of a tiny kiosk selling newspapers, cigarettes and snacks told the Washington Post that every evening he quietly stuffs a plastic bag full of the day’s earnings, around 100,000 bolívars (about ￡42) in notes of 10, 20, 50 and 100 bolívars.

在首都加拉加斯一處富人區有一家販賣報紙、香菸和零食的報亭，報亭老闆告訴《華盛頓郵報》，每晚他都要把一天的收入悄悄塞進一個塑料袋，每天收入約爲10萬玻利瓦爾幣（約42英鎊），貨幣面值爲10、20、50和100玻利瓦爾。

Venezuela has one of the highest crime rates in the world, and he said carrying that much cash frightens him.

今年42歲的報亭老闆表示，委內瑞拉是全球犯罪率最高的國家之一，帶着這麼多現金讓他很害怕。

"All of Caracas is unsafe," the 42-year-old told the newspaper, opting not to give his name.

這位不願透露姓名的男子告訴記者，整個加拉加斯都不安全。

His best-selling item is cigarettes, he said, which have climbed in price from 250 bolívars to 2,000 bolívars a pack — at least 20 bills.

他說，銷量最好的是香菸，其售價已經從250玻利瓦爾幣漲到2000玻利瓦爾幣一包——這至少要二十張鈔票。

The shrinking value of the currency has meant that withdrawing the equivalent of ￡5 from an ATM produces a fistful of more than 100 bills.

貨幣縮水意味着從自動取款機取出100多張鈔票才相當於5英鎊。

Some ATMs now need to be refilled every three hours, because the machines can only hold so much cash.

由於自動取款機裝不下太多現金，有些機器現在每3小時就要續款。

This means there are often a limited number of functioning ATMs in Caracas, and long queues to withdraw money.

這意味着加拉加斯經常只有少數自動取款機正常工作，而爲了取錢人們總是排着長隊。

"Electronic payment is increasingly common in the country," Henkel Garcia, director of the Venezuelan economic think tank Econométrica, told the Washington Post.

委內瑞拉經濟智庫Econométrica的負責人漢高.加西亞對《華盛頓郵報》表示，

"The use of online payments is likely to have soared," he said.

電子支付在委內瑞拉越來越普遍，在線支付的使用量很可能飆升。

But it is expensive for small businesses to buy and set up credit-card machines.

但是對於小企業來說，購買和安裝信用卡機器的開銷太大。

Mr Maduro, who has largely continued the socialist policies of his predecessor, blamed the situation on an "economic war" waged by his opponents in the business community and in the United States.

馬杜羅在很大程度上延續了其前任的社會主義政策，他將如今的狀況歸咎於美國和其商界對手發動的經濟戰。

But, in a sign his government recognises the severity of the problem,

但他近日宣佈預計於明年1月發行更大面額的貨幣。

he recently announced the issue of larger-denomination bills, expected in January.

這一跡象表明馬杜羅政府已經認識到問題的嚴重性。

The notes are reportedly set to start at 500 bolivars and reach 20,000 bolivars.

據報道，新貨幣的面值在500到20000玻利瓦爾幣之間。

Until the notes are issued, however, the Venezuelan people are poorer than ever, while the country is awash with cash.

等到貨幣發行後，委內瑞拉便擁有足夠現金，但該國人民只會更加貧窮。

Bremmer Rodrigues, who runs a bakery on the outskirts of Caracas, said his family are at a loss over what to do with their bags of bills.

布雷默.羅德里格斯在加拉加斯郊區經營着一家麪包店，他表示，成包的鈔票讓他們一家感到無所適從。

Every day his business takes in hundreds of thousands of bolívar, he said, which he hides around his office until packing them up in boxes to deposit at the bank.

羅德里格斯每天的生意收入有數十萬玻利瓦爾幣，他先把這些錢藏在辦公室附近，之後再打包裝箱存入銀行。

He said if someone looked in on him, he might be mistaken for a drug dealer.

羅德里格斯說，如果有人看見他，可能會誤以爲他是毒品販子。

"I feel like Pablo Escobar," the 25-year-old told Bloomberg.

他告訴彭博社，我感覺自己就像巴勃羅.埃斯科巴（注：哥倫比亞毒梟），

"It’s a mountain of cash, every day more and more."

錢堆得跟山一樣，每天越來越多。