The strengthening of the Bolivarian Economic Agenda (AEB), which contemplates the development of the 15 productive engines; the implementation of the Petro cryptocurrency; The strengthening of the oil industry and the Exchange Rate System of Floating Market Supplementary Exchange Rate (DICOM) are part of the actions promoted by the national government to achieve the country’s economic recovery in 2018.
During his annual message on the political and governmental exercise of 2017, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, said Monday that 2018 will be the year of the consolidation of Petro -first cryptocurrency backed by energy from a country- with the objective of overcome the financial encirclement applied by the great powers.
“This year we are focused on consolidating the Petro’s startup. We have taken all the steps that have to be taken so that it will be at a national and global level”, he said.
On December 27, the Head of State signed the decree declaring as the material support of Petro the field number 1 of the Ayacucho Block of the Orinoco Oil Strip, a space that holds 5.342 million barrels of crude, whose value is 267,000 millions of dollars.
This mechanism will give the country freedom for its transactions, which will overcome the obstacles placed in the international financial market.
Reboost of PDVSA:
President Maduro also said that in 2018 the revolutionary transformation of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) must be achieved.
“Let’s trust in the working class, in its ethics, and let’s convert, this 2018, to our PDVSA in a powerful company, in a powerful engine, in a powerful lever of the economic recovery in general within the framework of the model of the Bolivarian Economic Agenda, the 15 engines”, he said.
The goal of the state-owned company is to increase current production, which is close to 1,900,000 barrels per day, to 2,500,000 barrels.
The revitalization of PDVSA will be accompanied by the recovery of crude oil prices, which was achieved thanks to the agreement to cut production signed and ratified by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other large producers.
The price of a barrel of oil has increased by an average of 40 to 60 dollars.
This agreement, together with the dialogue and consensus among the producers, is one of the flags that the Bolivarian Government has raised to promote the stability of the oil market.
The new DICOM:
In the economic development of the country, the revival of the System of Exchange Rates of Floating Market Complementary Exchange (DICOM), based on transparency and flexibility, and which provides for the direct participation of private companies, will contribute.
The head of state reported that this mechanism came into operation last Friday, so that all people, both natural and legal, can already bid at the auction.
“The new DICOM has already entered into operation, any Venezuelan can bid or offer in an auction system, and I am giving guarantees to all Venezuelan people, who send remittances from abroad, so they can open their bank accounts in public banking. national with the remittance and be able to participate as a bidder in the new DICOM”, he said during the speech on Monday.
Refinancing of external debt:
To overcome the financial aggressions that are woven from abroad and to ensure social attention to the Venezuelan people, President Maduro, at the beginning of November, created a presidential commission that has the task of consolidating the refinancing and the restructuring of the external debt.
The president described this measure as “a reformatting” with the essential objective of seeking economic balance and meet the needs of the country in matters of food, housing, health, education and security.
Mining Engine:
The mining engine of the AEB will play an important role in the economic recovery of the country.
For this reason, last December, the Head of State announced the development of a Management Plan for Productive Management of Mining in Venezuela, which aims to make better use of the resources of the Orinoco Mining Arc, a region of high wealth in mineral resources located in the South of the country.
In addition, it authorized the incorporation of 23 new areas located within this natural space for production.
With the creation of these areas, a closer relationship is sought with the organized miners, for the promotion of production in cooperation with foreign companies and the support of new technologies.
The activities carried out in the Orinoco Mining Arc during 2017 allowed a total of 7.8 tons of gold to be added to the reserves of the nation that are located in the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV).
Foreign investment:
The application of the Law on the promotion and protection of foreign investment, recently approved by the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), will be key to attract resources to increase national production.
This instrument establishes the principles, policies and procedures that will regulate the productive foreign investments of goods and services in any of its categories, which aim at the development of the existing productive potential of the country.
The law will be applied primarily to activities related to hydrocarbons, mining, telecommunications and social media.
