Venezuela Pitches Oil and Mining Plan to IMF

VENEZUELA · ECONOMY

Venezuela’s economy chief presented an oil and mining plan to the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday 14 October to pay for the country’s recovery. Economy Vice President Calixto Ortega laid it out at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, the Central Bank of Venezuela said.

For US investors and oil firms, the plan shows how Caracas hopes to rejoin the global financial system and deal with its public debt. Ortega also ruled out adopting the US dollar as the national currency and said the bolívar must be strengthened instead.

What Ortega Told the IMF

Ortega, a former head of the Central Bank of Venezuela, is the country’s vice president for the economy and its governor at the IMF. He spoke on Wednesday 14 October at the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand.

The IMF is the Washington-based lender that helps governments in financial trouble, and the World Bank is its sister institution for development loans. Venezuela restored ties with the IMF in April after a break that began in 2019, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.

Ortega’s oil and mining plan rests on four pillars, with growth driven mainly by higher output of oil and minerals. “They are the main engines for generating foreign income,” he said of mining and hydrocarbons, according to EFE.

The central bank listed the other three pillars in a statement carried by the business sites Banca y Negocios and Descifrado. They are spending revenue on essential public services, cutting inflation to double digits while restructuring the debt, and simplifying red tape.

Ortega said the new revenue would go to services neglected over the past decade, such as water and electricity. Residents of the eastern state of Monagas still report power cuts of up to six hours a day, El Pitazo reported on Wednesday.

He said Venezuela “has learned from its mistakes,” recalling oil booms when the money went mainly on imports. Since early this year, he added, the government has worked to reconnect the country to the international financial system and address its public debt.

Why Caracas Says No to the Dollar

“Dollarization is not the right answer for the country, but rather strengthening our national currency,” Ortega said. He added that in the medium term the bolívar “will cover 100% of our local economy.”

Dollarization means using the US dollar instead of a local currency, as Ecuador and Panama do. In Venezuela, the dollar has been the main reference for shop prices since the hyperinflation of 2017 to 2021, EFE reported.

The central bank’s official rate was 877.90 bolívars per US dollar on Wednesday 14 October, after climbing for months, El Estímulo reported. Experts cited by EFE see the rising dollar rate as one of the main causes of this year’s price surge.

What the IMF Expects for Venezuela

The IMF’s World Economic Outlook, released on Tuesday 13 October, projects growth of 5% for Venezuela in 2026 and 7% in 2027. It also expects inflation of 467.9% by the end of 2026.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez says the economy has grown for 22 quarters in a row. Ortega said the country now has “a good opportunity” to reach its potential.

What It Means for You

For US investors who hold Venezuelan bonds, the speech confirms that Caracas wants back into the international financial system. The central bank’s statement links that return to restructuring the country’s debt.

For Chevron, the US oil major that runs joint ventures with state oil firm PDVSA, the oil and mining plan puts extraction first. For families and travellers, the weak bolívar matters most, since prices in shops follow the dollar rate.

What Is Not Known

It is not known what production targets the plan sets or what repairing the water and power networks will cost. It is also unclear when the government will put concrete terms to its creditors.

It is not known whether the IMF will lend Venezuela money. The size of the 2027 budget and borrowing bills, delivered to the National Assembly on Wednesday, has not been disclosed.

More: Venezuela news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Venezuela present to the IMF?

Economy Vice President Calixto Ortega presented an oil and mining plan at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok on Wednesday 14 October. He said the income would fund water and electricity services.

Will Venezuela adopt the US dollar?

No, Ortega said dollarization “is not the right answer for the country.” He said the bolívar should cover all of the local economy in the medium term.

What does the IMF forecast for Venezuela?

The IMF projects growth of 5% in 2026 and 7% in 2027. It expects inflation of 467.9% by the end of 2026.

Who runs Venezuela now?

Delcy Rodríguez has been acting president since US forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on 3 January 2026. Maduro faces charges in a US federal court in New York.

Sources: Descifrado (Central Bank of Venezuela statement), 14 October 2026; Banca y Negocios, 14 October 2026; El Nacional, 14 October 2026; El Nacional, 14 October 2026; Tal Cual, 14 October 2026; El Estímulo, 14 October 2026; Tal Cual, 14 October 2026; Banca y Negocios, 14 October 2026; El Pitazo, 14 October 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error

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