Calixto Ortega: Venezuela's return to the IMF is a great achievement of Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy

Published at: 17/04/2026 10:01 PM

The Sectorial Vice President of Economy and Finance, Calixto Ortega, stressed that the return of Venezuela to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) represents a great achievement of Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy, demonstrating the efforts of the National Government to normalize relations with multilateral organizations, as well as with the general financial system.

“This decision constitutes an important step in normalizing the relations of the Bolivarian Nation with these global institutions, which reiterates that Venezuela will assert its rights in relation to the national assets blocked by the International Monetary Fund and will use those resources for social investment, guaranteeing the social welfare of the Venezuelan population,” said Ortega.

Regarding the current state of the national economy, he said that to talk about the Venezuelan economy, “it is impossible not to refer to everything that has happened, with all the restrictions we have been suffering since 2015, a very complex situation that Venezuelans have had to face.”

The economist highlighted that since the second quarter of 2021, the country has experienced constant growth. “With preliminary figures that we are receiving from the Central Bank, this first quarter of the year 2026 will be the 20th consecutive quarter of accelerated growth,” he said.

“To predict the future, it's sometimes good to look at the past. The Monetary Fund usually underestimates the good and overestimates the bad. If they are saying that the Venezuelan economy could grow 6% this year, that gives you the floor of what could happen,” said the official.

“We believe that we could be talking about double-digit growth again this year, if everything goes as planned,” he added.

Mazo News Team