- TRANSICIÓN
The third round of talks, from Wednesday the 14th, is devoted to finishing the Supreme Court selection; reform of the electoral council comes later.
Tercera ronda: desde el 14-oct · magistrados: 32, para diciembre · postulados de la sociedad civil: 127 para 12 asientos
affects parties asking for an election date and funds waiting for one to decide
- TELECOM
Conatel, the telecommunications regulator, authorizes SpaceX VZ to provide Starlink satellite internet nationwide.
Habilitación HGTS-00639 · 7 concesiones en banda Ku · titular: SpaceX VZ, S.C.A.
affects companies at oil fields, mines and farms far from fiber, and local internet providers
- PETRÓLEO
PDVSA projects 1.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2027 and says 44 of its 105 contracts are still unsigned.
61 contratos firmados · 44 por firmar antes de diciembre · 1,5 millones de b/d a fines de 2027
affects oilfield service companies and partners still negotiating with PDVSA
The State Department put in writing what gets negotiated first in Venezuela. The 32 justices the talks want seated in December will, according to Washington, be the ones to rule on challenges to a future election. The electoral council, which would have to call that election, comes later and has no round assigned. For a fund that ties its entry to an election date, the data point it can track before year-end is whether the court is chosen on time. The first observable comes on Thursday the 15th: the National Assembly is due to receive the 12 civil-society names that complete the 23-member committee. If that list slips, December starts to slide.
↳ Republic and PDVSA bonds trade in that market: their first session of the week is Tuesday the 13th.
↳ It will show what growth the Fund assigns Venezuela for 2026 and whether, as reported on October 5, it relies on the country's official figures.
↳ It is the first monthly reading since PDVSA put a date on its production target.
↳ It is the court's third invitation: Washington did not answer those of December and January, and a written view would be its first position in these appeals.
↳ A joint statement at the close would be the parties' own first text on the sequence Washington announced.
↳ The Fund said on October 1 that Venezuela has not asked it for a program or financing; a request announced in Bangkok would change that baseline.
↳ Those names complete the committee that picks the candidates for justice: it is the selection's first verifiable deadline.
↳ It is their last filing before the November 17 oral argument, where Judge Hellerstein will hear the parties.
The IBC, the Caracas Stock Exchange's main index, rose from 7,518.25 to 9,385.56 points between October 5 and 9; it gained 11.29% on Thursday the 8th and 10.94% on Friday the 9th.
The official dollar rose about 1% that week, so measured in dollars the gain barely changes. Banks drove it: Mercantil Servicios Financieros class A gained 60.4% and Banco Provincial 22.8%; among industrials, Manpa rose 41.3%. The market is thin: shares traded Bs 3.984 billion over the week, about $4.5 million, and nine of every ten of those bolívares traded in the forward segment, not spot. The exchange attributed the rally to no event; the next sessions will show whether the level holds on that volume.
According to the State Department, the third round of talks begins on Wednesday the 14th and centers on finishing the Supreme Court selection; the electoral council comes later.
A State Department fact sheet dated Friday the 9th sets Wednesday the 14th for the third round of talks between the acting government, represented by Jorge Rodríguez, and the 2015 National Assembly, chaired by Dinorah Figuera. It will focus on finishing the selection of the Supreme Court's 32 justices, due to be chosen by December, and on participation guarantees for individuals and parties. Reform of the electoral council is left for future rounds. On Saturday the 10th, the National Assembly published 127 applicants for the 12 civil-society seats on the nominations committee.
Departamento de Estado ↗Tercera ronda: desde el 14-oct · magistrados: 32, para diciembre · Consejo de Credenciales: 7 juristas · comité: 11 diputados + 12 de la sociedad civil · postulados: 127 · CNE: rondas futurasThe fact sheet explains why the court matters: it will rule on challenges to the results of upcoming elections. The filter has three layers. A seven-jurist Credentials Council, a majority of it chosen by the 2015 Assembly according to Washington, screens applicants; the 23-member committee picks the candidates, and the National Assembly elects. Meeting Figuera on Friday, Rubio did not answer when he expects elections.
Dinorah Figuera's 2015 Assembly: Washington credits it with the majority of the council that screens would-be justices and puts the selection at the top of the agenda.
Those asking for an election date, such as María Corina Machado, who proposes voting on July 24, 2027: reform of the electoral council, the body that calls elections, is left for future rounds with no date assigned.
INDICADORThe list of 12 civil-society representatives the preliminary commission takes to the National Assembly plenary. · Jueves 15 de octubre de 2026, según el cronograma de la Asamblea Nacional.
Conatel, the telecommunications regulator, approved on Thursday the 8th a general license and seven Ku-band concessions for SpaceX VZ to provide Starlink satellite internet nationwide.
The National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), the sector regulator, approved on Thursday the 8th General License HGTS-00639 and seven general concessions in the Ku band for the company SpaceX VZ, S.C.A. According to the regulator, the authorization allows it to provide Starlink-branded satellite internet nationwide, with a registered domicile and oversight in the country. The notice, published on Friday the 9th, gives no prices, plans or commercial launch date. That same Thursday Conatel granted 18 new licenses, 16 amendments and 7 renewals.
Conatel ↗Habilitación General HGTS-00639 · 7 concesiones en banda Ku · titular: SpaceX VZ, S.C.A. · aprobación: 8-oct · OFAC GL 61A: reporte de pagos al Gobierno cada 90 díasThe license gives Starlink a domicile and a regulator in the country. On the US side, OFAC's General License 61A of August 27 authorizes telecommunications dealings with Conatel, including satellite transmission. In exchange, whoever provides the service must report to the State Department, every 90 days, the taxes and fees it pays the Venezuelan government.
Companies operating far from fiber, at oil fields, mines and farms: they can contract satellite internet from a provider licensed and overseen in the country.
Internet providers in areas without fiber, from state-owned CANTV to regional operators: they now compete with a satellite service holding nationwide concessions.
INDICADORStarlink's prices, plans and billing currency in Venezuela, published by SpaceX or Conatel. · Sin fecha anunciada; primer corte de seguimiento el 30 de octubre de 2026.
PDVSA president Héctor Obregón projected on Friday the 9th output of 1.5 million barrels a day by end-2027; 44 of the 105 contracts the state company wants signed before December are pending.
At the annual assembly of Fedecámaras, the country's largest business confederation, on Friday the 9th, PDVSA president Héctor Obregón counted 61 signed contracts out of the 105 the state company wants by December; between 65% and 70% are for new fields and the rest rehabilitate mature ones. He projected closing 2026 near 1.3 million barrels a day and 2027 at 1.5 million, from 1.2 million today, with an increase of 18,000 to 20,000 barrels a month. He put refining at 350,000 barrels a day.
PDVSA — vía Banca y Negocios ↗Contratos: 61 firmados · 44 por firmar · meta: 105 antes de diciembre · campos nuevos: 65-70% · producción: de 1,2 a 1,5 MMb/d a fines de 2027 · ritmo: 18-20 mil b/d al mes · OPEP, agosto: 1,201 MMb/dObregón's math rests on the pace: 20,000 more barrels each month over the 15 months left until end-2027 take output from 1.2 to 1.5 million. Two of every three contracts are for new fields, which need drilling and hookups before producing, so the pace over the coming months depends mostly on mature fields. Through the government's direct communication, OPEC recorded 1.201 million barrels a day in August.
Oilfield service companies in drilling, well workovers and gas compression: the monthly barrel target is met with the rigs and crews they supply.
PDVSA in the 44 pending negotiations: it publicly committed to closing them before December, and an announced deadline weighs more on whoever announces it than on the partner.
INDICADORSeptember output as reported by Venezuela to OPEC in its monthly report. · Martes 13 de octubre de 2026.