The Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) has described Venezuela’s financial and humanitarian state of affairs as “fairly fragile”, pointing to an estimated triple-digit inflation and a sharply depreciating foreign money.
In a briefing on Thursday with reporters, spokeswoman Julie Kozack mentioned the organisation continues to carefully monitor developments within the South American nation, despite the fact that the IMF has had no formal relations with the Venezuelan authorities since 2019.
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Kozack emphasised that any resolution to re-engage would rely upon steering from the IMF’s member international locations and the broader worldwide neighborhood.
Financial and political crises in Venezuela have pushed huge emigration: Since 2014, roughly 1 / 4 of Venezuela’s inhabitants – about 8 million individuals – has left the nation, creating one of many largest displacement crises in current historical past.
The Venezuelan economic system in 2026 stays in a state of deep structural disaster.
It’s at the moment navigating a interval of unprecedented volatility and speedy coverage shifts, following years of hyperinflation and a contraction of its gross home product (GDP).
The US army’s abduction of former President Nicolas Maduro final month has triggered a seismic shift in each the political and financial panorama.
Whereas Maduro stays in US custody going through narco-trafficking prices, the performing administration below interim President Delcy Rodriguez has moved swiftly to implement a plan for stabilisation, restoration and transition.
“Venezuela is present process a extreme and extended financial and humanitarian disaster,” Kozack mentioned throughout Thursday’s briefing. “Socioeconomic circumstances stay very troublesome. Poverty is excessive, inequality is excessive, and there’s widespread shortages of fundamental providers. The state of affairs general is kind of fragile.”
The IMF figures present Venezuela’s public debt sitting at roughly 180 % of its GDP proper now, earlier than factoring in any courtroom rulings or arbitration payouts from previous defaults.
Kozack mentioned the worldwide lender was nonetheless gathering info and info on the easiest way to proceed with the South American nation.
The IMF hasn’t had any formal dealings with Venezuela in additional than 20 years. Its final official evaluation of the nation got here in 2004.
In 2007, Venezuela paid off its final World Financial institution mortgage below Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.
If the IMF restores ties with Venezuela, the South American oil exporter would have entry to about $4.9bn value of Particular Drawing Rights (SDRs) that had been frozen seven years in the past, after the IMF refused to recognise Maduro’s management.
SDRs are reserve belongings whose values are tied to 5 currencies: the US greenback, the euro, the Chinese language renminbi, the Japanese yen and the British pound sterling.
However US engagement in Venezuela might additionally create change within the nation’s economic system.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned final month that the administration of President Donald Trump could be prepared to transform Venezuela’s SDRs to {dollars} to assist rebuild the nation’s economic system.
And final week, the US Division of the Treasury introduced it was easing some sanctions on Venezuela’s power sector.
The Trump administration has positioned a heavy deal with Venezuela’s huge oil reserves, even going as far as to assert that the pure useful resource rightfully belonged to the US.
Citing US oil exploration within the space within the twentieth century, Trump has referred to as Venezuela’s resolution to nationalise the oil sector the “largest theft of property within the historical past” of the US.
His authorities has inspired overseas funding in Venezuela’s oil sector since Maduro’s removing.
It has additionally issued two basic licences, together with one that permits power corporations Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to conduct additional oil and fuel operations in Venezuela. These corporations have already got places of work within the nation and are among the many principal companions of state-run oil firm PDVSA.
The second licence permits overseas corporations to enter new oil and fuel funding contracts with PDVSA.
