BRICS Policy Center/PUC-Rio Held Debate ‘Venezuela: New Scenarios, Old Problems’

The BRICS Policy Center/PUC-Rio held, on October 13, the debate “Venezuela: New Scenarios, Old Problems,” which offered a complex analysis of the country’s political, economic, and social dynamics.

The event featured a presentation by Venezuelan professor Manuel Eugenio Gándara (UFRJ) and commentary by professor Maria Elena Rodriguez (BPC/PUC-Rio). In his talk, Professor Gándara provided a historical overview of the Chávez and Maduro administrations, highlighting both their specificities and discontinuities in order to shed light on Venezuela’s current political landscape.

The discussion emphasized that the country remains focused on an extractivist policy and is heavily dependent on oil, which creates structural vulnerabilities and limits productive diversification. Also addressed were the income redistribution policies implemented by Chávez, as well as the economic transformations under Maduro’s government—highlighting their consequences for the population, such as the deterioration of the minimum wage and living conditions.

Finally, the debate turned to contemporary dilemmas, including the migratory flows of Venezuelans throughout the region, tensions surrounding the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, and the recent awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, leader of the opposition to Maduro’s government.