The Daily Journal.- Former Caracas Mayor Juan Barreto proposed redirecting part of Venezuela’s military spending, which he claims remains beyond public scrutiny, toward funding teachers’ salaries, retirees’ benefits, and educational programs.
During his program No es Podcast Cosa, Barreto questioned the growth of what he described as “opaque” military spending and suggested allocating those resources to address social needs, particularly as the new school year begins.
“What if we used that opaque military spending, now that classes are starting, to pay teachers’ salaries and support education in general?” he asked.
Barreto argued that although official Venezuelan budgets appear to reflect declining military expenditures, an additional component exists that does not clearly appear in public financial records.
“There is a lack of transparency because military spending, at least what appears in the books and the national budgets, seems to be decreasing, while opaque spending continues to grow,” he stated.
The political leader also questioned the Bolivarian National Armed Forces’ involvement in business activities, pointing to companies linked to the military that operate in sectors such as distribution and energy.
“In Venezuela, the military owns companies. And there is a sort of parallel PDVSA, a military company involved in distribution and other activities,” he said.
In this context, Barreto referred to military involvement in energy-sector companies and claimed that authorities had effectively “militarized” certain businesses, including PDVSA Gas. According to him, officials reorganized the company into regional structures and transferred control to sectors associated with the Armed Forces.
Barreto proposed involving international organizations in an audit of military-owned companies and entities he described as “ghost companies” to determine how much of their resources are managed outside conventional oversight mechanisms.
“The United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund could audit military companies and ghost companies, exposing the lack of transparency surrounding the military establishment,” he suggested.
The former mayor linked his proposal to changes that, in his view, have taken place in Venezuela’s security and defense doctrine. He argued that developments following January 3 should also prompt a review of the country’s military spending structure.
Barreto insisted that authorities could redirect some of those resources to address the needs of the education system and retired workers.
“There is no more repression, fine, but then there should be education. Can’t we replace repression with education?” the university professor asked.
