The deputy of the Libertad parliamentary group, Henrique Caprilesproposed in the plenary session of the National Assembly (AN) that a debate be opened on the minimum wage in Venezuela, as well as the amount of pensions that remains anchored at 130 bolivars, equivalent to less than one dollar.
The former governor of Miranda made the request to the board chaired by Jorge Rodríguez this Tuesday, during the discussion of an agreement in support of the pilgrimage called by the governor in charge Delcy Rodriguez between April 19 and May 1, to demand the lifting of sanctions and for peace.
Capriles made a proposal to modify the wording of the agreement imposed by Chavismo, considering that the country needs “less rhetoric, more action and results.” He questioned that the “propaganda” of the interim office ensures that Venezuela has 20 consecutive quarters of growth, about the reactivation of companies, ventures and job creation, but reality indicates the opposite because there is no increase in salary or pensions.
“This Parliament must debate the economic and social situation that Venezuelans are experiencing (…) If the economy is going so well, where does the issue of the blockade come in? Is there a blockade in Venezuela? No. If there was a blockade in this country, all the imported products that we have in some stores would not be there. If we go to the vehicle park and leave near the Assembly, we are going to see a row of latest model trucks that I imagine do not come along the trails of Colombia,” he reproached.
When and how much will the salary improve?
During his speech, Capriles recalled that in 1989, the year of the “caracazo”, the minimum wage in Venezuela was equivalent to 237 dollars per month and oil production was more than 3 million barrels of crude oil per day, later falling to less than half a million barrels per day, as a consequence of the “destruction” of PDVSA and not the sanctions.
“If a million barrels a day are already produced today, people on the street want to know when it will improve and how much the minimum wage and pension will be. The bonus policy is not what Venezuelan workers want and we ask that the debate be opened within this parliament on the income situation of the Venezuelan family,” he stressed.
He added that Chavismo has the right to call for whatever mobilizations it wants, but that the true pilgrimage is made by every Venezuelan worker every day with an income that is not enough to eat and by every mother who goes from hospital to hospital in search of medical attention.
It is the second time that the former presidential candidate intervenes in the plenary session of the AN, since his installation on January 5. The first time (April 9) was to propose the lawyer Magaly Vásquez for the position of attorney general of the Republic and the former deputy Marialbert Barrios as defender of the people.
It is worth remembering that a similar request caused the former deputy of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), Oscar Figuerawas repeatedly denied the right to speak in the AN in the last administration and when the Parliament channel, Antv, intervened, it momentarily interrupted the transmission of the session.
Jorge Rodríguez: “I’m not going to stop you”
Capriles’ approach exasperated the head of the AN, who urged him to respect the Internal and Debating Regulations, which states that a complete agreement proposed by the majority of the plenary session cannot be replaced by another, but rather propose some change in parts of the text.
“If you want an agreement to be approved and discussed within the AN, you have to previously present the agreement to the board of directors. There is a first article (111 of the regulations), I’m not going to stop your balls If the article says what it says (…) Why does a debate have to be opened because you feel like it?”, responded Jorge Rodríguez.
Immediately afterwards, the Fuerza Vecinal parliamentarian, David Uzcátegui, intervened, saying that he did not criticize the agreement or the pilgrimage, but since the activity was also called for peace, he recalled that the amnesty has not benefited all political prisoners. This time Jorge Rodríguez did not have the same patience and cut off his right to speak after pointing out that it was out of order.
The Democratic Alliance, in the voice of Bernabé Gutiérrez, supported the Chavismo agreement and demanded the total lifting of international sanctions.
