Brands, Rolex stores and Ferrari dealership: president’s dress reveals luxury ‘island’ in Venezuela

Delcy Rodriguez on January 5, 2026 Marcelo Garcia/Palácio Miraflores/via REUTERS When she entered the Federal Legislative Palace to take the oath and be sworn in as interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez wore a green dress that caught the attention of many people outside the country: it was a model from the Italian brand Chiara Boni La Petite Robe, on sale for around 550 euros (approximately R$ 3,800). ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp Although the figure is below what opposition posts speculated on social media, the value is still much higher than the purchasing power of the average Venezuelan – the country’s current minimum wage, frozen at 130 bolivars since 2022, is equivalent to a mere R$2.46. Delcy Rodríguez’s designer dress reveals a little-known reality in the country, plunged into an economic crisis lasting more than a decade: the existence of a resilient luxury market. In Caracas, there are five official distributors of the luxury watch brand Rolex. For clothes from the most diverse brands, the Venezuelan capital has the Avanti Gallery. A few blocks away, on the ground floor of the Jalisco tower, you can see Ferrari cars displayed at a dealership of the Italian manufacturer. Delcy Rodríguez takes office as president of Venezuela In the capital, most of this luxury market is concentrated in the Las Mercedes neighborhood and its surroundings, a stronghold that forms an “island” of wealth in the city. The region is also the epicenter of a gastronomic boom that is attracting attention in the country, with haute cuisine restaurants opening by the dozens in recent years. Those who sit at their tables, many of which are led by Venezuelan chefs who have worked at starred establishments in Europe, are faced with the menu prices in dollars. The choice of currency is not a coincidence: in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Nicolás Maduro regime relaxed restrictions on the current use of American currency, benefiting those who have access to it – that is, the upper and upper middle classes. Who buys In an interview with the BBC, when asked about the origin of the money of high-income consumers in the country, Venezuelan economist Luis Vicente León responded that “what many people don’t understand is that the upper class in Venezuela continues to be relatively large and still has a lot of money”. The estimate from its consultancy, Datanálisis, is that around 6% of the population belongs to the upper and upper middle classes, constituting a group of around 2 million people. According to León’s analysis for the BBC, the luxury market is driven by an elite who spends their money out of fear that their resources will be frozen, as well as businesspeople and politicians linked to the government, targets of sanctions and without access to markets abroad. There are also fortunes linked to corruption, although it is not correct “to accuse everyone who buys at Las Mercedes of corruption”, in León’s words. Facade of the Ferrari dealership in Caracas Google Street View/Reproduction History of contrasts Income inequality is not new in the history of Venezuela. From the 1920s onwards, the country’s economy grew dramatically linked to oil exploration. With the commodity shock of the 1970s, inequality soared in the country. The scenario worsened after another sequence of economic crises linked to external debt and oil prices in the 1980s. Nicknamed “Saudi Venezuela”, the country produced immense wealth that did not reach the population. Luxury buildings were built in the middle of slums. Inequality in Caracas in the 70s: favelas and modernist buildings Reproduction / Fantastic It was in this context that Hugo Chávez emerged as a political figure. After being elected in 1998, the leader financed a greater distribution of income in the country with oil royalties. The situation began to deteriorate, under his successor, Nicolás Maduro, with a crisis fueled by US sanctions and the decline of the state-owned PDVSA, corroded by corruption and lack of maintenance of its industrial park. Ferrari and Venezuela The history of Ferrari in the country helps tell this story. Cars from the brand, created in Italy in 1947, began to circulate in the 1950s in Caracas, at the time a rich capital often compared to Paris, with boutiques from brands like Dior on its streets. A dealership was opened that same decade, and a sports car event in the capital attracted some of the best drivers in the world at that time, such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Jean Behra, to the city. After import restrictions in the 1970s, an authorized dealership opened in 1993. The location operated until 2007, when a trade blockade on Venezuela made operation impossible. The return to action was only possible again in 2021, when the same businessman who held the sales rights for the brand reopened the store, this time at its current address, on the ground floor of Torre Jalisco. While the majority of the population faces difficulties making ends meet, the brand’s cheapest vehicle costs no less than US$255,000, or R$1.37 million.

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