Do people mainly barter or trade for cash?

In Venezuela people both barter and trade. We have looked for a way to adapt in the best possible way to the situation we live in and what little that we have available.

It was normal to see people walking through the streets of our cities to offer their products and services, either for credit or for immediate payments. Today only about one-third of people use cash or credit.  Selling stuff is one of the only means of work in these times. People sell whatever they have available, from fruits that are grown in their yard to personal items that are no longer used.

Today barter is a viable alternative to solve more problems. If we all have something at home that we don’t use but it could be useful to another, or maybe we have to give up on something valuable to us in order to get what we really need.  In Venezuela, it is normal that these exchanges are made today. On Social networks, you can find people exchanging a house for a car, food for medicines, or gasoline for some service.  

In our country, we have a saying that says “grabbing even if it’s a failure” and it applies perfectly to trade and barter, it is better to get something than to get home empty-handed. You have to be creative in finding ways to survive. 

Note from Translator:

Cash in Venezuela is very unstable and has decreased dramatically. The Bolivar is almost worthless, inflation is so high they are worth more folded up into origami objects than as cash. The free-market exchange rate is about 3.5m bolívares to a dollar.

Daniel Moreno