Delcy Rodríguez, the acting president of Venezuela, publicly acknowledged this Wednesday the mistakes of the Chavista government and announced an agenda of economic reforms during her speech at the National Council of Productive Economy, held at the Miraflores Palace.
Rodríguez assumed power on January 5, 2026, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in the so-called "Operation Absolute Resolution," and was , a term that does not exist in the Venezuelan Constitution.
"Today, Venezuelans want to recover lost time; we want to restore the standard of living for our population," Rodríguez stated in his remarks.
In one of the most striking moments of the speech, the official openly acknowledged the accumulated failures: "I also ask that we correct our past mistakes; we recognize them, we rectify them, and I ask that we do not repeat them."
Rodríguez announced a wage increase for May first, although he did not specify the exact amount: "This increase, as we have mentioned, will be a responsible increase."
The announcement comes in a context of extreme precariousness: the minimum wage in Venezuela has remained at 130 bolívares per month —less than one dollar— since 2022, while the basic food basket exceeds 400 dollars per month.
The acting president also revealed a fact that reflects the structural imbalance of the system: "Today in Venezuela, there are more pensioners than contributors to pensions."
Among the announced measures, Rodríguez proposed to release approximately half a million frozen homes to make them available in the rental market, especially for young people who have started families and cannot access property.
He also invoked Article 6 of the Organic Law for the Speeding Up and Optimization of Administrative Procedures to eliminate excessive bureaucracy, acknowledging that the State's procedures "historically trample on citizens."
Rodríguez also called on the Venezuelan diaspora to return to the country: "I call on the youth of Venezuela who are within the country and those who are beyond our borders to join this effort and I invite them to return to our homeland."
In fiscal matters, he proposed building a new consensus tax model with the commercial and industrial sectors, and announced that the Venezuelan assets blocked abroad will be allocated "immediately to boost the productive capacity of the hydrocarbon and mining industries" to ensure salary improvements.
Since coming to power, Rodríguez has adopted various measures to distance himself from chavismo: he eliminated seven missions and foundations of the chavista apparatus in February, dismissed Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López in March, and sent a diplomatic delegation to Washington.
However, the Venezuelan opposition led by María Corina Machado points to her as part of the regime's apparatus and warns that her presence is not sustainable, recalling that she was "the link with Russia and Iran" during Maduro's years.
The Trump administration formally recognized Rodríguez as the authority of Venezuela on March 9 of 2026, and on the 14th of that same month, raised its flag at the embassy in Caracas for the first time in seven years.
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