The interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, announced this Wednesday that there will be a salary increase on May 1st, without specifying whether it refers to the minimum wage, frozen since March 2022, or to an income received by public sector workers consisting of two bonuses that were increased last month. Additionally, she called for a pilgrimage against sanctions that will traverse the country starting from April 19th until May 1st, when she said it will arrive in Caracas.
The head of state, who assumed the office following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January in Caracas by U.S. forces, stated that wages are expected to improve "in the near future as Venezuela has more resources." "I announce that on May 1st we will make an increase, and that increase will be responsible," said the Chavista leader in a national address lasting nearly half an hour, whose broadcast on the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) briefly failed due to a power outage.
Rodríguez confirmed that last March, an income for public sector workers, consisting of two bonuses in bolívars at the official daily exchange rate, was increased from 160 to 190 dollars. This income has no impact on labor benefits and followed the sale of fuel oil, a petroleum derivative, amidst the oil opening and rapprochement with the United States. Rodríguez also established a commission for "labor dialogue" amid worker protests demanding salary increases and ordered the formation of another for the "strategic" evaluation of the country's assets.
"Our immediate, medium, and long-term objective is to recover the workers' income sustainably and gradually through productive growth in both the hydrocarbons and mining sectors, which generate immediate revenues," she added.
