The governor of the Venezuelan state of Bolívar has some advice for dealing with the widespread shortage of food across the country. Can’t find eggs at your local Venezuelan grocery store? Why not try fried rocks instead?

Governor Francisco Rangel said during his radio show on Tuesday, September 29, that the Venezuelan people should not “yield to temptation” or worry about not being able to find a pack of flour or sardines to buy amid the shortages.

“Let them take away whatever they want. We are capable of eating a stick, or instead of frying two eggs, fry two rocks, and we will eat fried rocks, ” he said, “but no one can beat us.”

Rangel referred to the so-called economic war and the “induced inflation” that he and other ruling-party leaders claim is being caused by the opposition. “Now that prices are sky high, we need to fight against this together. Let them not feel like they have beaten us,” he said.

According to Andrés Bello Catholic University, the cost of basic food needs for an average family in Ciudad Guayana, Bolívar, increased by 18.79 percent in August. The university estimates that a family must now earn 44,963 Bs. (US$54.63) per month to satisfy their food requirements, roughly six times the monthly minimum wage.

Venezuela is home to the world’s highest inflation. The annual cost of living is increasing at a rate of 633 percent, according to the Cato Institute’s Troubled Currencies Project.

Rangel’s statements echo the words of the late former President Hugo Chávez, who expressed a similar sentiment during a speech several years ago. “It doesn’t matter if we have no clothes to wear, or no food to eat,” he said, “this is about saving the revolution.”

Source: Correo del Caroní.