RIO DE JANEIRO : Money, Money, Money
Brazilian authorities Friday will introduce their country’s sixth currency since 1986. All the others fell victim to hyper-inflation, which has made the notes almost valueless unless carried around in satchels.
Consumers, businesses and other currency users have been given ample time to convert their old bills to the new real, which will be pegged in value to the U.S. dollar.
The government hopes that this time Brazil will finally achieve a stable currency. Skeptics, however, argue that the plan is a political ploy designed to improve the prospects of its creator, former Finance Minister Fernando Henrique Cardoso, in the Oct. 3 presidential elections.
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