Venezuela intends to abandon US petrodollar, plans to introduce new international payment system and alternative currency

Vladimir Rodzianko
The Duran
Fri, 08 Sep 2017 00:00 UTC

In an address to a new legislative superbody, Maduro said:

"I am announcing that Venezuela intends to introduce a new international payment system and to create a currency basket for the liberation from the dollar and, [we intend] to free ourselves from the clutches of the dollar, the currency that is strangling our country."

"If they pursue us with the dollar, we'll use the Russian rouble, the yuan, yen, the Indian rupee, the euro," Maduro said.

Maduro plans to use the weakest of two official foreign exchange regimes and a basket of currencies. Currently in Venezuela, one dollar buys 3,345 bolivars, according to the central bank. At the strongest official rate, one dollar buys just 10 bolivars, but on the black market the dollar fetches 20,193 bolivars. A thousand dollars of local currency bought when Maduro came to power in 2013 would now only be worth $1.20.

On August 25, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing financial sanctions on the Venezuelan government. The White House said the measures were "carefully calibrated" to put financial pressure on Maduro's government.

Comment: Venezuela: West's far reaching battle against multipolarism

Its important to note that Venezuela sits on the largest amount of oil reserves in the world:

Reserves amounts are listed in millions of barrels (MMbbl):

The United States previously threatened to sanction anyone involved with the Constituent Assembly, which was elected on July 30.

The Constituent Assembly is a legislative body, which has the power to amend Venezuela's constitution. The election of the assembly took place amid mass, deadly protests across the country. Venezuelan opposition, as well as the European Union and the United States, have refused to recognize the body's legitimacy.

Maduro says this is part of an "economic war" waged by the opposition and Washington, aimed at his ouster.

"This is the fight against the economic blockade of the imperial sanctions of (U.S. President Donald) Trump," said Maduro.

Will Venezuela and Nicolas Maduro share the same fate as Iraq and Saddam Hussein?

Comment: Venezuela launches massive war games in response to Trump's threats

Comment: It appears the petrodollar's days of glory may be finally waning. At the recent BRICS summit, Russia and China presented their concept of a new multilateral order:

...Putin delivers the clincher; "Russia shares the BRICS countries' concerns over the unfairness of the global financial and economic architecture, which does not give due regard to the growing weight of the emerging economies. We are ready to work together with our partners to promote international financial regulation reforms and to overcome the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve currencies."

"To overcome the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve currencies" is the politest way of stating what the BRICS have been discussing for years now; how to bypass the US dollar, as well as the petrodollar.

Beijing is ready to step up the game. Soon China will launch a crude oil futures contract priced in yuan and convertible into gold.

This means that Russia - as well as Iran, the other key node of Eurasia integration - may bypass US sanctions by trading energy in their own currencies, or in yuan. Inbuilt in the move is a true Chinese win-win; the yuan will be fully convertible into gold on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges.

The new triad of oil, yuan and gold is actually a win-win-win. No problem at all if energy providers prefer to be paid in physical gold instead of yuan. The key message is the US dollar being bypassed.