Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accompanied by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, holds the document of the newly signed Law for the Protection of Pensions Against the Blockade, May 8, 2024. Photo: Presidential Press.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, enacted the Law for the Protection of Social Security Pensions Against the Blockade, which had already been unanimously approved in second discussion by the National Assembly.
“It is a step in the reconstruction of the social security system contemplated in the Constitution that Chávez left us,” said President Maduro after signing the law during the launching of the Great Mission Grandfathers and Grandmothers of the Homeland, held on Wednesday, May 8, at the 27 de Febrero Auditorium of the Simón Bolívar Park, in Miranda state.
He explained that due to this law, the business sector has to take measures of social justice, tax justice and social stability in order to contribute a significant percentage of their earnings to the payroll.
He stated that this money will go to a fund “so that pensions and the total income of grandfathers and grandmothers can be raised. With this aim I proceed to sign this law of tax justice, of social justice—this is possible only in the Revolution.”
The new law is part of the second line of action of the Great Mission Grandfathers and Grandmothers of the Homeland, called Comprehensive Protection, which contemplates the process of recovery of pensions, bonuses and the indexed integral income.
The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, explained that the new law reinforces what was established in the constituent process of the Bolivarian Republic by the initiative of Commander Hugo Chávez, to consecrate the right of the elderly to the social security guarantees.
Venezuelan National Assembly Passes Pension Protection Law to Combat Imperialist Sanctions
“Yesterday, in second discussion, this law was approved to guarantee the pensions of our grandmothers and grandfathers, it consists of two chapters and 13 articles,” said Rodríguez.
He added that the first chapter condemns the criminal nature of the unilateral coercive measures illegally imposed by the United States against the Venezuelan people.
The second chapter establishes that as the Bolivarian Revolution and the Venezuelan government make immense efforts to maintain social security measures for all, “it obliges the business owners of the private sector to also contribute an amount for decent pensions.”
Based on this chapter, President Maduro instructed the Superintendent of the Republic José David Cabello to convene business owners on Thursday to “discuss and reach a consensus” in order for the private sector to contribute to the Integral System for the Protection of Grandfathers and Grandmothers.
The Law for the Protection of Social Security Pensions against the Blockade also establishes that the president of Venezuela may exonerate special taxpayers and strategic sectors for foreign investment and national development from the payment of the special contribution, totally or partially.
It further establishes the amount of the special contribution for private legal entities that carry out economic activities in Venezuela, irrespective of whether they are domiciled in Venezuela. The amount has been set at 15% of the total payments of salaries and non-wage bonuses to workers.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
