A military coup-de-grace in Zimbabwe and a bankrupt Venezuela. Both countries have extreme hyperinflation, citizens are starving and basic medical treatment is near impossible to find. These are the real world problems 47.5 million people are currently facing.
Presidents Robert Mugabe and Nicolas Maduro both deny the crises in their respective countries. For Maduro it is the media propagating false truths. In Zimbabwe the response to hyperinflation has been to declare it illegal.
Both countries are in the media spotlight after a significant week that has left one man powerless and another scrambling to restore faith in his bankrupt country.
Each country’s mess is thanks to mismanagement of resources and the central banking system. Citizens have had their rights almost decimated as the cash in the bank is worth increasingly less and fewer people are receiving income. Basic goods and services are near impossible to come by, with little sign of let-up.
The hyperinflation and economic situations in both the Latin American and south African country are a reminder of the damage caused by governments. Both Maduro and Mugabe have acted under the premise of serving the electorate. Citizens as a result have only suffered and seen their wealth diminish on a daily basis.
Both countries may seem a million miles away from the West in terms of political situation and cultures. However there is a strong lesson to be learnt. Savers should learn the need to protect their earnings and wealth from the manipulative decisions of governments and destructive monetary policies.
Zimbabwe: The tyranny of a despot and his central bank
“Zimbabwe, welcome back to the record books! You have once again entered the inglorious world of hyperinflation. It is a world of economic chaos, wrenching poverty and death,”
– Steve Hanke, economics professor at Johns Hopkins University
