The minimum wage will be hiked in two stages. The initial phase will be a 10% increase in early March. Then a 15% increase will come into play in the beginning of September.
Chavez’s critics say the devaluation is a scheme to attract more bolivars per dollar from oil sales so he can augment public expenditures before political elections next early fall.
“The socialist president said the increase of "25 percent for this year" will lift the minimum wage from its current level of 967 bolivars ($371.92/$224.88) a month to almost 1,200 bolivars ($461.54/$279.07) per month and is intended as a measure to "further reduce poverty,” says the EFE.

On another note, he dictated to politicians that he would sink the Planning Ministry into the Finance Ministry. Jorge Giordani will be at the helm of this burgeoning bureaucracy. He is currently the planning minister.

Venezuela is the world’s fifth largest oil producer, but is facing an electricity shortage because of the low water table. Their hydroelectric plant requires more water to function.
Chaves states the power issues are the fallout from a massive drought. This is a freak phenomenon from El Nino. But his competition says the electricity problem is a direct result of his nationalization of this industry in 2007. They also point out that he has not invested enough resources into this vital sector.  Chavez has set his country down the wrong course and his people are suffering. Chavez is a bully and is not the person for the job.

The official figures, the electricity deficit is sitting around 1,700 MW. The country has been rationing electricity and this should save about 1,600 MW. This sounds ominous to me.

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