CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Wednesday asked public and private sector workers, whose wages have long not allowed them to afford basic necessities, for patience as her government works to improve the country’s economy.
Rodríguez, in a nationally televised address to the nation, promised workers a wage increase on May 1. She did not disclose the amount but explained it would be done in a way meant to avoid the inflationary spike that followed the last minimum wage increase.
“This increase, as we have indicated, will be a responsible increase,” Rodríguez said. “Likewise in the near future, as Venezuela enjoys more resources that allow for the sustainability of salary improvements and workers’ income, we will continue moving forward on this path.”
Many public sector workers survive on roughly $160 per month, while the average private sector employee earned about $237 last year. Venezuela’s monthly minimum wage of 130 bolivars, or $0.27, has not increased since 2022, putting it well below the United Nations’ measure of extreme poverty of $3 a day.
The International Monetary Fund estimates Venezuela’s inflation rate is a staggering 682%, the highest of any country for which it has data. The country’s central bank last month released inflation figures for the first time since November 2024, showing the annual rate in 2025 soared to 475% from 48% the year before.
That has sent the cost of food beyond what many can afford, with independent economists estimating that a family’s basic basket of goods exceeds $500 a month.
Rodríguez’s address to the nation came a day before workers are expected to demonstrate in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, to demand a wage increase. She told viewers that change will not happen overnight and asked them as well as employers across industries to work together and with her government “to begin a sustained recovery and maintain this path of growth.”
“It must be done with prudence, with awareness, with patience, but with a profound spirit of optimism about what the future holds for Venezuela,” Rodríguez said.
Rodríguez has repeatedly promised economic improvements since she was sworn in following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro in January. Maduro’s entire presidency was marked by crisis that pushed millions into poverty and drove more than 7.7 million people to leave Venezuela.
The Trump administration stunned Venezuelans by choosing to work with Rodríguez, instead of the country’s political opposition, after Maduro’s ouster. She has since led cooperation with the U.S. administration’s phased plan to end Venezuela’s complex crisis, pitching her oil-rich nation to international investors and opening its energy sector to private capital and international arbitration.
