El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, known for his tough stance on criminal gangs, is now implementing price controls to combat high prices [a98c13b7]. Bukele's move is reminiscent of Hugo Chavez's economic policies in Venezuela [a98c13b7]. He plans to target wholesalers and distributors responsible for price gouging and expects prices to come down by tomorrow, or there will be consequences [1faccd1e] [a98c13b7]. While Bukele's powers may not allow him to lock people up for charging too much, he claims evidence of tax evasion, bribery, and contraband importation [1faccd1e]. The government also plans to set up sales points to distribute food at fair prices [1faccd1e].
Bukele's crackdown on gangs has made El Salvador one of the safest countries in Latin America [1faccd1e]. The state of emergency declared in 2022 has led to the arrest of 78,175 suspected gang members, although about 7,000 have been released due to lack of evidence [1faccd1e].
In addition to El Salvador, other Latin American countries are also grappling with economic challenges and the rise of cryptocurrencies [a98c13b7]. Paraguay, for example, has introduced stricter penalties for power theft in crypto mining [a98c13b7]. The new law aims to curb illegal electricity usage for cryptocurrency mining [a98c13b7].