CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP)—Venezuelan police fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse around 2,000 protesters who marched towards the presidential palace to demand salary and pension increases, AFP reporters saw.

In a sign that the fear that gripped Venezuelan society under ousted leader Nicolas Maduro has begun to subside, the protesters chanted “Yes, we can!” as they pressed long-standing demands for increases to wages so low that many struggle to survive.

Others shouted “Let’s go to Miraflores!” referring to the presidential palace.

Dozens of riot police with helmets and shields lined the streets as the protesters made their way through central Caracas. Police fired teargas when the demonstrators drew within a few blocks of the presidential palace.

One protester suffered a gash on the arm after being hit by a rock thrown during the melee.

The clashes reflect growing anger in Venezuela over the perceived failure of acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced socialist hardliner Maduro in January, to address a cost-of-living crisis.

On Wednesday, she went on television to announce an increase in wages on May 1 but did not disclose the amount.

The monthly minimum wage in Venezuela is 130 bolivars (US$0.27), roughly 330 times lower than the UN poverty line of $3 a day.

Unions and workers complain of “starvation wages” which have been frozen since 2022.

Jesus Godoy, who devoted over 20 years to public service, showed an AFP reporter two 100-bolivar bills in his pocket, equivalent to about 40 US cents, saying: “I don’t even have enough for a packet of flour.”

He charged that government officials “drive around in huge SUVs with bodyguards, while ordinary Venezuelans are left to suffer.”

While public sector salaries can reach around $150 with government bonuses, they remain a fraction of the $645 that, according to various estimates, families need to cover their basic food needs in the face of annual inflation of over 600 percent.

The protesters are demanding increases to baseline salaries and not just to their bonuses, which have been increased in the past even as wages remained stagnant.

“We are demanding a living wage now, because what Delcy Rodriguez said last night is a joke,” Mariela Diaz, a 65-year-old retiree, declared.

– Inflation fears –

Rodriguez, who succeeded former leader Maduro after his capture by US forces in a January 3 raid, had advocated a “responsible” increase in salaries that does not cause a spike in inflation.

The former vice president received the nod from US President Donald Trump to succeed her former boss Maduro, provided she gave Washington access to Venezuelan oil.

Under pressure from Washington to ease repression, she has pushed through several major economic reforms, as well as an amnesty for political prisoners.

But she faces growing impatience from Venezuelans struggling to pay for food, medicine and other basics.

On Thursday she travelled to the Caribbean nation of Grenada, northeast of Venezuela, for her first international visit as head of state, state TV images showed.

Thursday’s protest was the biggest anti-government demonstration since August 2024, as Venezuelans showing growing assertiveness after largely refraining from protesting over the past two years following successive crackdowns on dissenters.

The August 2024 protests, which followed Maduro’s disputed claim of victory in presidential elections, were brutally repressed.