The Human Rights Committee for the Defense of Pensioners, Retirees, and Elderly People delivered a letter this Monday to Deputy Dinorah Figuera, president of the National Assembly elected in 2015 and coordinator of the Dialogue Commission for Democratic Transition, in which she requested the inclusion of the critical situation of the elderly as a priority issue on the negotiation agenda.
The organization's representatives met with Figuera and accompanied her request with a detailed report on the systematic violations of human rights of this sector, which they described as "historically neglected." In the communication, they urged that the elderly have a voice in shaping the country's future.
According to the Committee, since 2013 — and with greater intensity in recent years — millions of retirees, pensioners, and elderly people have seen "the real value of their income pulverized," facing severe difficulties in accessing food, medicines, medical care, housing, and public services. The organization also denounced the abandonment of thousands of Venezuelan pensioners abroad, whose payments have been suspended since 2016, generating a debt that the State "will necessarily have to recognize and repair."
In a statement released this Monday, the Committee stated: "We expose the systematic violation of the human rights of this vulnerable sector of the Venezuelan population, condemned to extreme poverty, characterized by deaths resulting from malnutrition, lack of medicines, and medical control due to insufficient income"; they added that the situation worsened with the earthquakes of June 24, 2026.
The Human Rights Committee for the Defense of Pensioners, Retirees, and Elderly People delivered this Monday a letter addressed to Deputy Dinorah Figuera, president of the National Assembly elected in 2015 and coordinator of the Dialogue Commission… pic.twitter.com/Jy2Ysg8KN3— PROVEA (@_Provea) August 10, 2026
Reference data indicate that the official minimum wage for the elderly is around 130 bolívares (approximately 0.17 dollars), compared to an estimated basic food basket worth hundreds of dollars. The government partially compensates with bonuses that, according to reports, reach about 70 dollars for pensioners and 130 for some public sector retirees.
The organization extended its request to the situation of active workers and emphasized that "Venezuela's democratic recovery cannot be built by leaving aside those who worked, contributed, and contributed to the development of the Nation for decades. The dignity of our elderly cannot continue to wait."
The dialogue process, promoted within the framework of the political transition following recent months' events, is in its first round of sessions, scheduled until August 12. Provea, which supported the Committee's action, emphasized that any genuine dialogue must focus on the needs of the population, including sufficient wages and pensions, as well as full recognition of economic, social, and cultural rights.