Petro claims external pressure to dollarize Venezuela and Latin America

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has voiced strong opposition to what he describes as external pressures pushing Venezuela and other Latin American countries toward adopting the U.S. dollar. During a public event, Petro directly addressed the situation in Venezuela, suggesting that authorities there were being urged to make the dollar the official currency.

Petro warned that this push for dollarization is not isolated, pointing to Ecuador as a country that has already undergone the process. He asserted that such a move would undermine the economic autonomy of nations. "They already did it in Ecuador and only Colombia is left," he stated, emphasizing the potential loss of national sovereignty.

The Colombian leader also highlighted the institutional consequences of abandoning the national currency. "It turns out they already proposed getting rid of the peso and putting the dollar in Colombia, with which the Bank of the Republic ends, but also the monetary sovereignty of this country ends," he declared.

These statements come amid ongoing discussions about the role of the dollar in Latin America. Venezuela has been experiencing a de facto dollarization for years, with the U.S. dollar widely used in transactions, pricing, and private operations, even as the bolívar remains the official currency. Experts note that this phenomenon does not constitute formal dollarization, as Venezuela's Central Bank continues to issue the bolívar and manage monetary policy, but it signifies a significant decline in the national currency's functionality across various economic sectors.