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Venezuela's interim President promises stability amid economic uncertainty. Live from the uk this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. I'm Stuart Clarkson. Good morning. We'll start today in Venezuela where there's continuing unrest after the US captured President Nicolas Maduro and removed him from the country. His Vice president, Del C Rodriguez has been sworn in as interim president in Caracas. After taking the oath, she vowed to guarantee the peace of the country, including what she called the economic and social tranquility of our people. But with all the upheaval, how is this affecting daily life? Here's Wilmer, based in Caracas. We're not using his real name due to his fear of a backlash from the authorities. He's explained what it's like to go shopping.
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C
It has been more possible, but the store owners are still hiring door guards that will filter up people in groups of five to get into the store, do the purchase and get out and then let the next five people come in because they don't want a whole bunch of people in the stores because they might break out into, you know, robbing everything and just taking everything that has happened before and they are trying to prevent that. So there is supply availability at a higher price and making a long line. Well, a package of 1 kg of corn flour, which is very popular food here, used to cost $1, $1. Today it costs 3, 320. I can't afford that. I feel hopeful, but I feel more concerned. It's uncertain what's going to happen tonight, what's going to happen tomorrow, what's going to happen by the end of the week? How much is the food going to cost tomorrow? How much am I going to make?
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That's Wilma, who lives in Caracas. So what can Venezuelans expect from their new interim president? Ivan Briscoe is from Crisis Group, the international conflict prevention organ. Good morning. Welcome to Marketplace. Ivan, Good morning. So what do we know about Rodriguez and what she might want to achieve as interim president?
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D
Well, we don't know a lot so far and the circumstances in which she's come to the presidency are exceptional. She's going to obviously be under extreme pressure, if not tutelage of the United States. What we do know about her is something of a history, because she has been at the very heights of the Chavista government for the last decade. She's occupied a number of positions as vice president, head of the Constituent assembly, foreign minister, minister for oil. In all of these, she has shown a strong technocratic grasp. She has been, in economic policy, very pragmatic, but she has been a hardliner of the regime, always stout in her defence of President Maduro and determined to keep Chavismo's grip on power.
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B
And it's been a turbulent economy for many years in Venezuela. A lot of people already facing hardship before this weekend's events even.
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D
Oh, the collapse of the Venezuelan economy from about 2013 onwards is one of the biggest peacetime contractions of any economy in world history. The Venezuelan economy lost 70, 80% of its GDP from 2013 onwards. Now, because it was so dependent on the oil industry for over 90% of its exports. Obviously the falling oil prices had something to do with that, but you didn't see anything like that effect in other oil producing countries. Rather, it had a lot to do with corruption, mismanagement and simply the effect of state control. Economic policies which were a legacy of the government of Ovugo Chavez, by which I'm talking about a policy of expropriations. Price controls are very heavy. Government spending, debt fueled spending on social programs, all of which span out of control in about 2016, 2017, and led to a period of hyperinflation, shortages of basic goods in the shops and seemingly an absolute humanitarian disaster, which really sparked the first wave of emigration from Venezuela, which has now led to about 8 million people leaving the country.
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B
And do you think the events of the weekend are going to make things better for people in Venezuela or perhaps worse, for a short time?
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D
There's no doubt that things have improved, stabilized, should we say, over the last few years. And a large part of that has been a policy of crude liberalization, dollarization, removal of trade controls, removal of price controls, and which Delsey Rodriguez has been deeply involved in. Delsey has been at the heart of the economic policy shift, which, as I said, stabilized economy, brought a little bit of growth in recent years and certainly increased oil production over the last few years. So she knows how Venezuela works. She understands there can't be a return to the state controls of earlier years. But she's perhaps not got the most sophisticated economic understanding. Obviously, she and other government officials have been trying to court foreign investors over the last few years. They regard that as very important to upgrade the equipment of the oil industry and to also sort of put money into other companies and businesses across the country. But the problem is that how do investors come to trust that they will have guarantees for all their work and their interests in the country when there is no rule of law, when the government is run in a fairly arbitrary fashion and political decisions always trump economic decisions or business decisions. So in that context, it will require a more fundamental shift away from the authoritarian one party state, if you like, towards respect for the rule of law and institutional checks and balances.
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B
Valuable insight. Really appreciate you talking to us. Thanks for being with us on Marketplace.
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D
Ivan, it's a pleasure. Thank you very much.
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B
Let's do the numbers now. Oil analysts say production could increase by up to half a million barrels a day under improved political and investment conditions. And an east rising of US Sanctions. Possibility of higher crude output from Venezuela has seen oil prices fall slightly in trading on the Asian markets today. The UK clothing retailer Next has reported profits of $1.5 billion for the year to January. That's partly driven by a huge rise in international sales which were up 38% over the past 12 months. Now the Swiss food and drink firm Nestle is recording some baby formula products in several European countries over concerns they contain a toxin which can cause food poisoning. The BB Aruna Iyengow reports affected batches.
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Of Nestle's SMA products could contain Ceralide, a toxin which is heat resistant and can't be destroyed by using boiling water. If consumed, it can lead to nausea, severe vomiting and abdominal cramps. Nestle said so far there were no confirmed reports of illnesses, but it was recalling the products out of an abundance of caution. The company said the problem was caused by an ingredient provided by one of.
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Its suppliers, Aruna Jengar, there. Here in the UK, the number of new cars registered in 2025 has back up to levels not seen since before the COVID pandemic. Here's the BBC's Theo Leggett.
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New car sales in the UK have been recovering slowly since the pandemic. Last year they increased by 3 1/2% to go above 2 million for the first time since 2019. Electric vehicles have been steadily expanding their share of the market, accounting for more than 23% of all cars sold.
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As Theo Leggett reporting now, all businesses carry out stock takes. But how about this one? Zookeepers at London Zoo are starting 2026, counting every single animal for their annual stock take, including every bird, invertebrate, fish, reptile, mammal, even down to colonies of ants. What a job here in the uk. I'm Stuart Clarkson with the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.
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Hey everyone. You already listened to Marketplace Podcasts, so you know that it's important to understand how economic forces shape our lives. And that feels especially important now as we're all trying to make sense of the latest headlines. I'm Marina Reyes, host of Marketplaces. This is Uncomfortable, a show that explores how money bumps up against our relationships, our choices, and the parts of life we don't always say aloud. And starting January 15th, we are back every single week. New stories, new questions, and the kind of conversations that make you feel less alone in this quickly changing economy. We're tackling questions like should I turn my hobby into a money making side hustle? How do I deal with layoff anxiety? Or what do we owe our parents financially? Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to this is Uncomfortable from Marketplace. Wherever you get your podcasts.