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A poppy seller on a market in Caracas, February 16, 2019. Valery Sharifulin \ TASS via Getty Images

According to a study by the Venezuelan consultant Ecoanalítica, just over half of the country's transactions are in foreign divisions, mainly in dollars, but also in euros. Officially, currency transactions are not allowed in Venezuela, but with hyperinflation, it is increasingly difficult to pay in bolivars, the national currency. Reportage.

With our correspondent in Caracas, Benjamin Delille

In the middle of the covered market of Chacao, Jose displays two prices for his eggs: one in bolivar, the other in dollar. He does this because more and more customers are using foreign currency: " It's been six, seven months, maybe a year or less. There is no more liquid in bolivars, blue cards work badly, so many use dollars. "

Hector and his wife Delcy slip just a few greenbacks to their greengrocer. But they assure not to pay everything in dollars: " It depends on the exchange rate offered by the merchant. Sometimes it's good and it's worth it, sometimes no. Now, there are supermarkets where, at the cash desk, they only accept dollars or euros. "

What surprises them is the amount of currency found in the street. They receive dollars from their daughter who lives abroad, but these are very limited quantities: " What is said is that people linked to the government are bringing in a lot of cash. "

Hard to know, but one thing is certain for Adrian, the vegetable merchant, the bolivars are disappearing: " If they can, people prefer to have dollars rather than bolivars because this currency is not affected by inflation , its prices remain stable. "

This is not entirely true: according to Ecoanalitica, prices in dollars have been multiplied by five since January. It's paradoxical, but the greenback is so popular that its value is rising, and the trend is not going to reverse.

► See also: Venezuela: the economic crisis is about to last