Barter economy and a number of communal currencies are coexisting with the Venezuelan bolivar as of August, under a law recently enacted by President Hugo Chávez. 

The use of the communal currencies became official under the Law for the Promotion and Development of Popular Economy, which is part of a set of 26 statutory laws enacted by Chávez last July 31, when an 18-month period granted by the National Assembly for the ruler to enact statutory decrees expired.

Under the law, several regional productive communities were allowed to create their own currencies as a "tool that enables and facilitates the exchange of ideas, goods and services," as set forth in Article 26 of the aforementioned law. 

The Venezuelan government has promoted since 2007 this type of economic system, which aims at offering an option to traditional trade of goods and services by replacing Venezuelan legal currency for the barter system or by regional monetary "currencies".