Venezuelans have enjoyed paying mere pennies at the gas pump for the past 20 years thanks to hefty subsidies, but that luxury will come to an end after President Nicolás Maduro announced a gasoline price hike Wednesday in a bid to shield Venezuela's oil-dependent economy from collapse.
"The time has come for us to create a system that guarantees access to gasoline at fair Venezuelan prices but that also guarantees payment for what is being invested to produce the gasoline and the functioning of Petroleos de Venezuela," Maduro said, referring to the state-run oil producer, according to CNN.
With the price increase, the cost of gasoline will jump more than sixty-fold, with the price of premium gas rising from 0.1 bolivar to six bolivars per liter, while regular gas will rise from 0.7 bolivar to one bolivar per liter. So while the increase is still noticeable, its more likely that Venezuelans will now have to pay dimes instead of pennies for their gasoline.
"Venezuela has the cheapest gasoline in the world," Maduro said before announcing the new price, according to Bloomberg. "The cost is almost nothing."
Maduro gave no indicator as to when the new prices will go into effect.
Oil and gasoline prices are something of a touchy subject for Venezuela, where memories of the Caracazo riots of February 1989 riots are still vivid. At the time, food and gas price increases sparked nationwide protests, paving the way for Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez's, who famously called ex-President George W. Bush "the devil," rise to power. Fearing a repeat of the riots, Chavez refused to raise gas prices during his 14-year tenure.
Venezuela's gas price increase comes as Maduro, who has an approval rating within the 20 percent range, fights for his political survival, reported the Associated Press. Oil accounts for 95 percent of Venezuela's export earnings, and the country has been pushed into a recession due to the price of oil falling more than 75 percent after reaching a peak in June 2014. The ongoing recession has left the country with soaring inflation, chronic shortages and empty store shelves, and in light of this, his opposition has called for his removal from office.
