THE MUGABE-IZATION OF VENEZUELA CONTINUES

CANADIAN PRESS/AP: Venezuela launches new currency in bid to stem inflation

Venezuela launched a new currency with the new year, lopping off three zeros from denominations in a bid to simplify finances and boost confidence in a money that has been losing value due to high inflation.

President Hugo Chavez's government said the new currency - dubbed the "strong bolivar" - will make daily transactions easier and cure some accounting headaches. Officials also say it is part of a broader effort to contain rising prices and strengthen the economy.

"We're ending an historical cycle of...instability in prices," Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas said Monday, adding the change aims to "recover a bolivar that has significant buying capacity."

Prices have risen as Chavez has pumped increased amounts of the country's oil income into social programs, reinforcing his support among the poor and helping to drive 8.4-per-cent economic growth in 2007.

The Central Bank is promoting the new monetary unit with an ad campaign and the slogan: "A strong economy, a strong bolivar, a strong country."

Officials, however, have yet to clearly spell out their anti-inflationary measures.

Some Venezuelan critics, meanwhile, have dubbed the new currency the "weak bolivar," noting its predecessor, the bolivar, has seen its purchasing power suffer in an economy where inflation ran at roughly 20 per cent in 2007 - the highest in Latin America.

THE ROAD TO SERFDOM...