Venezuela’s Energy Sector Primes for a Thaw

October was a busy month for Venezuela. The United States eased sanctions on the country’s oil sector, the opposition and the Maduro regime sketched out an electoral roadmap, and María Corina Machado triumphed in the opposition primary. What does all this mean for the country’s energy sector? "I estimate that instead of getting half a billion dollars per month, they will be getting closer to a billion dollars per month. So, it's a very important amount of money that Maduro could use to improve his electoral chances by spending money for electoral purposes," says Francisco Monaldi, a fellow and the director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute. He spoke with AS/COA Venezuela Working Group Director Guillermo Zubillaga about the outlook for the sector and Venezuela's 2024 elections. This podcast was produced by Jon Orbach. Carin Zissis is the host. Luisa Leme is the executive producer.Listen to an Americas Quarterly’s interview with the White House’s Juan Gonzalez that is mentioned in the episode: t.ly/foX6fThe music in this episode is “Pasa Mi Padre” performed by Jorge Torres. Watch the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgJUwTOsK1wFind out about upcoming concerts at: musicoftheamericas.orgCheck out other episodes and subscribe to Latin America in Focus on your preferred platform via: www.as-coa.org/podcastWe’d love to hear from you. Share feedback at: [email protected] Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.Follow us on social media:X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/