The rise in the value of the dollar, the continued increase in interest rates in the United States and the meeting of the Presidents of Venezuela and Colombia are three of the most important news of the day. Juanita Gómez provides more details on how each of them impacts the country in some way.
1. A previously announced meeting between Venezuela and Colombia
President Gustavo Petro left Bogotá with a delegation consisting of Chief of Staff Laura Sarabia; Álvaro Leyva, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Luis Ernesto Vargas, Ambassador of Colombia to the Organization of American States (OAS), and Félix Plasencia, Ambassador of the neighboring country in Bogotá.
The meeting between the President of Colombia and Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro resulted in a statement from the US State Department asking Colombia:continue to stand up for and demand a democratic and prosperous hemisphere with their partners and in multilateral forums Responsibility to the governments that have discarded the norms democratic, like the authoritarian regime of Maduro in Venezuela”.
“Venezuelan negotiations are the only path to credible, free and fair elections that reflect the will of the Venezuelan people in their efforts to revitalize democracy,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
President Gustavo Petro, for his part, referred to the border between the two countries and how it remained in the hands of the mafia, noting the smuggling taking place there.
“The border has been left in the hands of the mafia, organizations whose leadership is multinational, an expression of the failure of the drug war that has left a million dead and trade routes in its wake. We will reestablish ties at the intelligence level,” Petro told the press during that appearance.
2. The rise of the dollar
The dollar’s rise is unprecedented, so it’s uncertain how it will behave on a day-to-day basis. Experts attribute its rise not only to international but also to domestic factors, so uncertainty monopolizes the marketswhich negatively affects the economy of Colombians and increases the price of some products, including imported products.
For example, corn – partly imported – is affected after the dollar appreciation, since in this case, for the production and sale of meat in the production chain, these animals are fed with this grain and bought at a high price, this affects the sale off.
In addition, there are the textile and construction industries, which need imported raw materials to provide their services.
Reference photo on dollars. – Photo: Getty Images3. The United States hiked interest rates
The Federal Reserve decided to hike interest rates by 75 basis points to 4%. Analysts met the estimate. In terms of monetary policy, the movement is one of the strongest in recent times.
This is the fourth rise in interest rates of this magnitude in a row. It is the highest since January 2008 and is expected to stave off sharp inflation. The Fed met for two days to raise interest rates despite mounting recessionary risks in an economy showing signs of slowing.
At the end of its November monetary policy meeting, which began on Tuesday, the Fed assumed “that further rate hikes will be appropriate”. However, he cautioned that the impact on the economy of the increases already implemented should be taken into account to set the pace of increases, possibly slower, according to an official statement.
*With information from AFP.