The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and its opposition broke a political stalemate on Saturday with a broad social accord, heralding a potential easing of a grinding economic and political crisis in the South American country.

It paves the way for the United Nations to oversee a trust fund of frozen assets of the Venezuelan government to be used for a variety of social projects in the country, including programs related to education, health, food security, flood response and electricity.

"We have identified a set of resources belonging to the Venezuelan state, frozen in the global financial system, to which it is possible to access," said Dag Nylander, an envoy from Norway, which facilitated the negotiations. The amount to be released was not specified.

The agreement, signed in Mexico, ended 15 months of stalemate between the two sides, potentially easing a massive flow of refugees from Venezuela throughout the region and even impacting world oil markets.

Maduro praised the deal on Twitter, saying it "opens the way for a new chapter for Venezuela, to keep advancing toward the peace and well-being that all Venezuelans yearn for."

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was committed to supporting the parties, calling the breakthrough "an important milestone that has the potential to deliver broader benefits for the people of Venezuela."

(Cover: Residents remain among the rubble of destroyed houses caused by a landslide after heavy rains in the Valle Verde sector of Puerto La Cruz, Anzoategui state, Venezuela, on November 4, 2022. /CFP)