Venezuela Ponders Full Dollarization Amid Battered Bolivar
Venezuela has been living in dollars for years, and now a formal proposal to make that reality official is being debated. In 2026, opposition lawmaker Antonio Ecarri pushed a dollarization bill through public debate, but it was blocked by the Chavismo-aligned national assembly on constitutional grounds.
The proposal, backed by economist Steve Hanke, would replace the bolívar entirely with the US dollar. Currently, around 65% of retail transactions in Venezuela are conducted in US dollars, making formal dollarization a largely symbolic move.
Business groups have taken a more cautious position, suggesting a bimonetary system where the bolívar remains in circulation alongside other currencies. This would preserve some degree of monetary sovereignty without committing fully to a US-pegged framework.