Venezuela Crisis: The Oil Rich Country in Trouble
The proven oil reserves in Venezuela are recognized as the largest in the world, totaling 299 billion barrels whereas Saudi Arabia has 266 billion barrels in its stock.
Despite being an oil-rich country, Venezuela is facing severe socioeconomic and political crisis. Crime and violence are also widespread. In 2016, 27,479 people were killed - an all-time high - according to the independent group the Venezuelan Violence Observatory.
A socioeconomic and political crisis has been taking place in Venezuela since 2010 under the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has continued into the current presidency of Nicolás Maduro.
The opposition accuses President Nicolas Maduro of moving towards a dictatorship, and want him to resign. But Maduro says the opposition is conspiring with foreign entities, specifically the United States, to destabilize the country.
In 2016, opposition lawmakers took a majority in the legislature—the National Assembly—for the first time in nearly two decades. However, the Maduro government has taken steps since to consolidate the president’s power, holding heavily disputed elections to replace the legislature with a constituent assembly comprised entirely of government supporters. Maduro’s actions, which have been met with massive protests and international condemnation, threaten to delegitimize the results of the 2018 presidential election.
Hyperinflation:
Venezuela's inflation rate, which has been over 50 percent since 2014, reached 536.2 percent in 2017 largely due to the rapid depreciation of the local currency on the black market, the opposition-controlled National Assembly said on October.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation will reach 2,068.5 percent by 2018.
Nationalization:
Chavez, a former military officer who launched an ill-fated coup in 1992, was elected president of Venezuela in 1998 on a populist platform. As a candidate, he railed against the country’s elites for widespread corruption and pledged to use Venezuela’s vast oil wealth to reduce poverty and inequality. During his presidency, which lasted until his death in 2013, Chavez expropriated millions of acres of land and nationalized hundreds of private businesses and foreign-owned assets, including oil projects run by ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.
Chavez also greatly expanded the powers of the presidency. Shortly after he took office, voters approved a new constitution that allowed him to run for another term, removed one chamber of Congress, and reduced civilian control over the military. In 2004, two years after he was briefly removed from office in a coup, Chavez effectively took control of the Supreme Court by expanding its size and appointing twelve justices. In 2009, he led a successful referendum ending presidential term limits.
Despite being an oil-rich country, Venezuela is facing severe socioeconomic and political crisis. Crime and violence are also widespread. In 2016, 27,479 people were killed - an all-time high - according to the independent group the Venezuelan Violence Observatory.
A socioeconomic and political crisis has been taking place in Venezuela since 2010 under the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has continued into the current presidency of Nicolás Maduro.
The opposition accuses President Nicolas Maduro of moving towards a dictatorship, and want him to resign. But Maduro says the opposition is conspiring with foreign entities, specifically the United States, to destabilize the country.
In 2016, opposition lawmakers took a majority in the legislature—the National Assembly—for the first time in nearly two decades. However, the Maduro government has taken steps since to consolidate the president’s power, holding heavily disputed elections to replace the legislature with a constituent assembly comprised entirely of government supporters. Maduro’s actions, which have been met with massive protests and international condemnation, threaten to delegitimize the results of the 2018 presidential election.
Hyperinflation:
Venezuela's inflation rate, which has been over 50 percent since 2014, reached 536.2 percent in 2017 largely due to the rapid depreciation of the local currency on the black market, the opposition-controlled National Assembly said on October.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation will reach 2,068.5 percent by 2018.
Nationalization:
Chavez, a former military officer who launched an ill-fated coup in 1992, was elected president of Venezuela in 1998 on a populist platform. As a candidate, he railed against the country’s elites for widespread corruption and pledged to use Venezuela’s vast oil wealth to reduce poverty and inequality. During his presidency, which lasted until his death in 2013, Chavez expropriated millions of acres of land and nationalized hundreds of private businesses and foreign-owned assets, including oil projects run by ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.
Chavez also greatly expanded the powers of the presidency. Shortly after he took office, voters approved a new constitution that allowed him to run for another term, removed one chamber of Congress, and reduced civilian control over the military. In 2004, two years after he was briefly removed from office in a coup, Chavez effectively took control of the Supreme Court by expanding its size and appointing twelve justices. In 2009, he led a successful referendum ending presidential term limits.
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