Venezuela's economic opening must guarantee decent wages and rights

Six months into the executive administration led by Delcy Rodríguez, indicators show a moderate slowdown in annual inflation, thanks to monetary discipline and operational partnerships with the private sector and direct investment.

Still, the 22% exchange-rate gap between the official dollar and the parallel rate is again pushing up food costs.

The arrival of private capital should not come at the expense of weaker workers' rights or the erosion of real wages. Macroeconomic stability requires restoring the purchasing power of workers' incomes, battered by years of hyperinflation and sanctions.

The success of any strategy for stabilization and attracting private capital cannot be measured solely by growth in oil production, but by the sustained recovery of the purchasing power of the minimum wage and the strengthening of public health services for the Venezuelan population.