Venezuelan public employees mobilize for higher wages

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Thousands of Venezuelan public employees took to the streets Wednesday to demand higher wages, pensions and medical insurance.

The protest in downtown Caracas was joined by both active and retired public health and education workers.

The demonstrators walked for approximately 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Public Prosecutor's Office to the Ombudsman's Office in what they called the "March of the Burials" in reference to the salaries of public workers that have been "buried" by inflation.

The last increase in the minimum wage in the South American country was implemented in March 2022 at 130 Venezuelan bolivares, or about $30 per month, which is now less than $10 with the recent devaluation.

According to figures from the Venezuelan Observatory of Finance, the inflation rate in December 2022 in Venezuela reached 37.2%, the highest in the last 20 months.

Venezuela is immersed in one of the worst economic crises in years. A collapsed oil industry, aggressive US sanctions and several years of hyperinflation have impoverished Venezuelans, for whom obtaining basic food products seems an almost impossible task.

On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro said the country is facing a “severe and adverse situation” due to the sanctions the US has imposed for years.

More than seven million Venezuelans have left the country since 2015 due to the economic downturn, according to the United Nations.