A total of 69 economists, journalists, professors and other members of Venezuelan civil society demanded on Monday (29) that the country’s authorities publish “up-to-date figures” on the economic and social situation.
In a letter, promoted by economist and former opposition deputy José Guerra, the signatories asked “the authorities of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV ), the Ministry of Finance, PDVSA and the National Institute of Statistics (INE) to publish the updated figures for which they are responsible”.03080421
The group stated that, in the case of the BCV, “information on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the balance of payments was no longer published in the first half of 2019”, which is why they ask for an update.03080421
Likewise, they asked the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum for production numbers, which they have not published since 2016, which obliges experts and interested parties to use information from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).03080421 In addition, they asked the Ministry of Finance for an update, which has not provided figures on fiscal management and public debt since 2009, and to INE, whose most recent data on poverty are from 2015.
“This situation forms a picture of opacity, lack of transparency and disregard for the Constitution, which establishes the right of Venezuelans to information true and timely”, they highlighted in the letter.
