Agenda Venezuela: A surrendering business

Published at: 18/09/2026 05:00 PM

On Monday, April 15, 1996, the President of the Republic, Rafael Caldera announced to the nation a series of measures contained in the so-called Venezuela Agenda, whose fundamental purpose was to eliminate inflation through the restoration of macroeconomic balances and the recovery of economic growth.

For the time being, it was necessary to overcome a long period of transition that began with the oil boom of 1973 and 1974, when the National Government saw a sharp increase in the availability of resources and committed a significant part of them to the creation and expansion of a group of loss-making public companies, diminishing their capacity to finance the subsidy policy without resorting to the fiscal deficit as a new source of financing. This policy failed in the 80s, with the deterioration of oil prices and the increase in foreign debt, which had an adverse impact on variables affecting inflation and the deterioration of the quality of life that the country experienced during that decade.

The oil policy within the Venezuela Agenda sought to reactivate the national economy by attracting private investment to expand hydrocarbon production , and it also allowed international and private Venezuelan corporations to invest fresh capital in the sector, which would be managed by Petrleos de Venezuela S.A., (PDVSA).

According to the plan, the central objective was to substantially increase the volume of daily production of barrels of crude oil, through an investment estimated at close to 30 billion dollars, and it was committed to generating massive revenues through the volume exported, thus compensating for the country's macroeconomic imbalances. This generated internal and external friction, since the strategy clashed with the quotas set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), leading Venezuela to temporarily exceed its international allocations.

Regarding administrative strategies for the use of resources, the details are not known, no one required them and no campaigns were being campaigned against them; however, the consequences of them were experienced by the People.

In the documents published by the Central Office for Coordination and Planning (CORDIPLAN), chaired at the time by Teodoro Petkoff, which are now on the Analitica.com website, it was detailed that “there was a severe impact on quality of life due to the elimination of exchange controls, a devaluation of the currency by 160%, the The official exchange rate jumped dramatically from 170 to 470 bolivars per dollar, making all imports more expensive all at once.” It is important to remember that, for the time, the country did not suffer any type of restriction, blockade or economic sanction that would naturally undermine its economic development, as a result of oil revenues.

Although the Oil Opening attracted billions of dollars in private investment, the impact of these was not reflected in the amortization of the debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or in the quality of life, poverty levels increased, the middle class was disadvantaged every day and experienced devaluation in the short term, inflation of 103% in 1996 and the brutal increase in 800% in the price of gasoline with Agenda Venezuela.

This is how the party leaders focused on defending corporate interests, political pacts and the quotas of power within ministries and PDVSA, neglecting basic public services such as hospitals, schools and universities; with social discontent that resulted in a constant wave of strikes by public workers, doctors and teachers, as well as intense street demonstrations.

AMELYREN BASABE/Mazo News Team