Venezuela rejoined the IMF in April 2026 after abandoning the organization in 2019. Ortega emphasized that increased fiscal revenues from petroleum and mining operations will fund sectors neglected over the past decade, specifically water and electricity supply systems. The government has been working since early 2026 to reconnect Venezuela to international financial systems and address its public debt burden.
The IMF’s Tuesday economic outlook report projected Venezuela’s GDP growth at 5% for 2026 and 7% for 2027, building on what Acting President Delcy Rodríguez characterized as 22 consecutive quarters of economic expansion. Ortega stated that with previous restrictions lifting, Venezuela’s growth can now reach its true potential, contrasting past performance achieved under constrained conditions.
The Fund simultaneously estimated Venezuela’s annual inflation at 467.9% for year-end 2026. Experts attribute this primarily to dollar appreciation, which serves as the main reference for pricing goods and services following the hyperinflation period between 2017 and 2021. Ortega rejected dollarization as an appropriate solution, instead committing to strengthen the bolivar through growth and stability measures. He projected that Venezuela’s national currency would cover 100% of the local economy within the medium term.
Ortega acknowledged Venezuela learned from past errors when high crude prices enabled heavy reliance on imports of essential products. The current strategy redirects potential revenues from recovered petroleum and mining production toward expanding domestic industrial capacity and economic diversification. Labor unions and workers continue reporting persistent salary crises despite the reported economic growth figures.
The presentation marks Venezuela’s most comprehensive economic policy statement since reestablishing IMF relations, signaling the government’s intention to leverage natural resource wealth for infrastructure rehabilitation and industrial development.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
