Delcy Rodríguez announces ‘responsible’ minimum‑wage increase for Venezuela
The acting president acknowledged, for the first time, her government’s responsibility for hyperinflation and shortages
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced on Wednesday an increase in the minimum wage — the first so far this decade. She did not specify the size of the raise, describing it only as “responsible,” and said it would take effect on May 1. Rodríguez is trying to ease growing discontent after the hopes of an economic recovery sparked by the January 3 U.S. intervention failed to materialize in people’s pockets. With a march called for Thursday in Caracas to demand economic relief, Rodríguez again invoked her administration’s commitment to “president Hugo Chávez’s spirit of social justice.”
Rodríguez acknowledged for the first time the regime’s responsibility for the country’s hyperinflationary collapse and widespread shortages — terms the upper ranks of the Chavista government typically avoid — and even for the emigration that has pushed nearly eight million Venezuelans out of the country, which she described as “induced.” She also conceded weaknesses. For Rodríguez, the widely discussed Venezuelan collapse of recent years is the result of the “economic blockade.” The acting leader also admitted — perhaps for the first time in 12 years — that there had been a “mistaken policy on wage increases,” which produced severe monetary and fiscal distortions.
Rodríguez also announced the creation of a Presidential Commission for Labor Dialogue, which will allow the country to “envision a new model” for labor relations. The idea is that this process will lead to a constitutional assembly on labor union matters. During his final weeks in office, Nicolás Maduro had cited the “labor union constitutional assembly” as the next political objective of the Bolivarian Revolution.
Rodríguez called for greater agility from the state and announced the signing of the Organic Law for the Elimination and Improvement of Administrative Procedures. She described it as “an act of justice” for all citizens, designed to streamline the processes of the country’s sluggish and ineffective bureaucracy.
She also proposed a new, improved tax model for collecting taxes; and the creation of a Commission to Determine the Strategic Nature of State Assets. Rodríguez criticized opposition leader María Corina Machado’s proposals to privatize Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA and said Venezuelans would oppose such a move.
Since Tuesday, Rodríguez’s address had generated enormous anticipation in the country after she promised “important announcements.” Unlike her two predecessors in the presidency this century — Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro — the acting president is not inclined toward long speeches or toward repeatedly commandeering radio and television broadcasts for her reflections or announcements. In fact, over these three months, very few nationwide broadcasts have been called for presidential announcements.
Rodríguez offered encouraging words to the public. She highlighted the economic improvements of recent months, the recovery of the private sector’s “installed capacity,” and the implementation of “direct subsidies” for the prices of public services (water, electricity, internet, domestic gas).
“These are social, not monetary, incomes. This is how we achieve social justice,” she said. “We want to recover lost time and improve people’s living standards; with these measures, we want to heal the population’s social wounds.”
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