The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, announced that as of this Monday, May 16, between 5 and 10 percent of the shares of public companies will be offered through the Caracas Stock Exchange. “in order to stimulate national and international investment.”
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This decision came as a surprise to many, since the companies that will begin trading were nationalized during the mandate of Hugo Chávez, such as the National Telephone Company of Venezuela (Cantv) and Movilnet, which passed into the hands of the State.
“We need capital for the development of all public companies,” Maduro said in a speech in which he stressed that he was open to “listening to new proposals, ideas and visions for Venezuela to recover.”
He also took the opportunity to make a call to leave “meanness” to “work together and consolidate this first stage of growth in the real economy.”
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Sanctions and economic deterioration, as well as the lack of access to credit in international institutions have contributed to disinvestment in these companies, whose services are poorly valued by citizens. In the case of Cantv, which also provides internet, user complaints are constant due to lousy service.
This announcement can be described as a possible rapprochement of the Government with private capital, making us reflect on the failure of the so-called “Socialism of the 21st Century”. For a couple of months, gestures have been seen in the return of expropriated properties that could never be activated with state capital.
Venezuela came out of the hyperinflation phase in March and now seeks to recover its economy. International organizations believe that economic growth could reach two figures this year, but according to economists, these improvements are uneven and it is said that only 12 percent of the population is “well”, while the rest continue to face the ravages of the crisis.
ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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