The problem as I see it is that every requirement for real dollars is a new application and can be either granted, denied or delayed at the whim of the government and the CB.

A favoured Russian company for example could be given access to foreign currency while another one was denied and apart from the beneficiary nobody else would even know who was favoured and who was not. These applications are obviously granted or denied on a case by case basis so it allows completely arbitary actions that cannot be appealed or avoided.

A company can be penalized or rewarded on the whim of the Cadivi (working at Hugo's direction) simply by allowing or denying them access to the "official" exchange rate and of course that rate is a fiction in any case supported by nothing more than decree.

Just check the earlier report posted by zenmaster and mull over these snippets from that report.

"A report in El Universal newspaper claimed that prices for these goods were rising because of delays in the authorization by the Foreign Exchange Administration Commission (Cadivi) of hard currency permits for importers.

Applications for hard currency for these sorts of imported goods were being held up for between 90 and 120 days