Jump to content

2013–present economic crisis in Venezuela

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Venezuelan economic crisis[1] is the deterioration that began to be noticed in the main macroeconomic indicators from the year 2012, and whose consequences continue, not only economically but also politically and socially. The April 2019 International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook described Venezuela as being in a "wartime economy".[2] For the fifth consecutive year, Bloomberg rated Venezuela first on its misery index in 2019.[3]

Origins

[edit]

Economy of Venezuela
CurrencyBolívar Digital (VES)
Calendar year
Trade organizations
WTO, OPEC, Unasur, ALBA
Statistics
PopulationIncrease 28,301,696 (2022)[4]
GDP
  • Increase $102.328 billion (nominal, 2024 est.)[5]
  • Increase $224.526 billion (PPP, 2024 est.)[5]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • Increase 4.0% (2023f)[6]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $3,867 (nominal, 2024 est.)[5]
  • Increase $8,486 (PPP, 2024 est.)[5]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
  • Positive decrease 193% (OVF estimate; annual; December 2023)[8]
  • Positive decrease 189.8% (BCV; annual; December 2023)[9]
  • Negative increase 360% (IMF estimate; annual; 2023)[5]
Population below poverty line
  • Negative increase 87.0% (2017 est.)[10]
  • 19.7% (2015 est.)[7]
39 medium (2011)[7]
Decrease 13 out of 100 points (2023, 177th rank)
Labor force
Decrease 11,063,337 (2020)[13]
Labor force by occupation
  • Communal, social and personal services: 31.4%
  • Commercial, restaurants and hotels: 23.4%
  • Manufacturing industry: 11.6%
  • Construction: 9.0%
  • Transport, storage and communications: 8.7%
  • Agriculture: 6.5%
  • Financial, insurance and real estate: 6.1%
  • (2015)[14]
UnemploymentNegative increase 35.6% (2018 est.)[5]
Main industries
Petroleum, construction materials, food processing, iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly, real estate, tourism and ecotourism
External
ExportsIncrease $32.08 billion (2017)[15]
Export goods
Petroleum, chemicals, agricultural products and basic manufactures
Main export partners
Imports$9.1 billion (2017)[16]
Import goods
Food, clothing, cars, technological items, raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment and construction material
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Decrease $32.74 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[7]
  • Increase Abroad: $35.15 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[7]
Increase $4.277 billion (2017 est.)[7]
Positive decrease $100.3 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[7]
Public finances
Negative increase 38.9% of GDP (2017 est.)[7][note 1]
−46.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[7]
Revenues92.8 billion (2017 est.)[7]
Expenses189.7 billion (2017 est.)[7]
Standard & Poor's:[17]
SD (domestic)
SD (foreign)
Outlook: negative

Moody's:[18] C
Outlook: stable

Fitch:[19]
CC (domestic)
RD (foreign)
Outlook: negative
  • Decrease $8.999 billion (April 2019)[20]
  • Decrease $9.661 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[7]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Venezuela is based primarily on petroleum,[7][21] as the country holds the largest crude oil supply in the world.[22] Venezuela was historically among the wealthiest economies in South America, particularly from the 1950s to 1980s.[23] During the 21st century, under the leadership of socialist populist Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan economy has collapsed, prompting millions of citizens to flee Venezuela. GDP has fallen by 80 percent in less than a decade.[23][24] The economy is characterized by corruption, good shortages, unemployment, mismanagement of the oil sector, and since 2014, hyperinflation.[22][25]

Venezuela is the 25th largest producer of oil in the world and the 8th largest member of OPEC. Venezuela also manufactures and exports heavy industry products such as steel, aluminum, and cement. Other notable manufacturing includes electronics and automobiles as well as beverages and foodstuffs. Agriculture in Venezuela accounts for approximately 4.7% of GDP, 7.3% of the labor force and at least one-fourth of Venezuela's land area.[7] Venezuela exports rice, corn, fish, tropical fruit, coffee, pork and beef. Venezuela has an estimated US$14.3 trillion worth[26] of natural resources and is not self-sufficient in most areas of agriculture. Exports accounted for 16.7% of GDP and petroleum products accounted for about 95% of those exports.[27]

Since the 1920s, Venezuela has been a rentier state, offering oil as its main export.[28] From the 1950s to the early 1980s, the Venezuelan economy experienced a steady growth that attracted many immigrants, with the nation enjoying the highest standard of living in Latin America. The situation reversed when oil prices collapsed during the 1980s. Hugo Chavez became president in 1999 and implemented a form of socialism (the Bolivarian Revolution) that resulted in the collapse or nationalization of many Venezuelan businesses, and purged the state-run PDVSA oil company, replacing thousands of workers with political supporters with no technical expertise.[23] The Chavez administration also imposed stringent currency controls in 2003 in an attempt to prevent capital flight.[29] These actions resulted in a decline in oil production and exports and a series of stern currency devaluations.[30]

Price controls and expropriation of numerous farmlands and various industries are government policies along with a near-total freeze on any access to foreign currency at reasonable "official" exchange rates. These have resulted in severe shortages in Venezuela and steep price rises of all common goods, including food, water, household products, spare parts, tools and medical supplies; forcing many manufacturers to either cut production or close down, with many ultimately abandoning the country as has been the case with several technological firms and most automobile makers.[31][32]

Venezuela's economy has been in a state of total economic collapse since 2013.[33] In 2015, Venezuela had over 100% inflation—the highest in the world and the highest in the country's history at that time.[34] According to independent sources, the rate increased to 80,000% at the end of 2018[35] with Venezuela spiraling into hyperinflation[36] while the poverty rate was nearly 90 percent of the population.[37] On 14 November 2017, credit rating agencies declared that Venezuela was in default with its debt payments, with Standard & Poor's categorizing Venezuela as being in "selective default".[38][39]

The United States has been Venezuela's most important trading partner despite the strained relations between the two countries. American exports to Venezuela have included machinery, agricultural products, medical instruments and cars. Venezuela is one of the top four suppliers of foreign oil to the United States. About 500 American companies are represented in Venezuela.[40] According to the Central Bank of Venezuela, between 1998 and 2008 the government received around US$325 billion through oil production and exports in general.[17] According to the International Energy Agency (as of August 2015), the production of 2.4 million barrels per day supplied 500,000 barrels to the United States.[18] A report published by Transparencia Venezuela in 2022 estimated that illegal activities in the country made up around 21% of its GDP.[41][42][43]

The origin of this economic collapse, framed in the context of the Great Recession, years after the improvement of the extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons in the U.S., showed a macro-economic phenomenon of great importance for the region. China's slowdown, a steady increase in oil production, and stable demand generated a surplus of crude oil that caused a drop in prices of reference crude oil, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), and Brent Crude, falling in 2014 from $100 a barrel to $50 a barrel, and causing unfavourable changes in the economy of Venezuela (see 2010s oil glut).[citation needed]

Owing to high oil reserves, lack of policies on private property and low remittances, by 2012, 90% of Venezuela's revenues came from oil and its derivatives. With the fall in oil prices in early 2015 the country faced a drastic fall in revenues of the US currency along with commodities.

In addition, the government had not made policy changes to adapt to the low petroleum price. In early 2016, The Washington Post reported the official price of state-retailed petrol was below US$.01 per gallon, and the black market valued the dollar at 150 times what the official state currency exchange rate did.[44]

Business and industry

[edit]

In 2013, Venezuela ranked as the top spot globally with the highest misery index score.[45][46]

Ratings for Venezuela from 1998 to 2017 by the U.S. Government-funded NGO Freedom House[47] (1 = Free, 7 = not free)

A number of foreign firms have left the nation, often due to quarrels with the socialist government, including Smurfit Kappa, Clorox, Kimberly Clark and General Mills; the departures aggravate unemployment and shortages.[48]

Domestic airlines are having difficulties because of hyperinflation and parts shortages, and many international airlines have left the country.[49] Airlines from many countries that have left Venezuela including AeroMexico, Air Canada, Avianca (Colombia), Delta, and Lufthansa, making travel to the country difficult. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Government of Venezuela has not paid US$3.8 billion to international airlines in a currency issue involving conversion of local currency to U.S. dollars.[50] Airlines have left for other reasons, including crime against flight crews, stolen baggage, and problems with the quality of jet fuel and maintenance of runways.[51] American Airlines, the last U.S. airline serving Venezuela, left on 15 March 2019, after its pilots refused to fly to Venezuela, citing safety issues.[52]

Iranian Mahan Air (blacklisted by the U.S. since 2011[53]) began direct flights to Caracas in April 2019,[54] "signifying a growing relationship between the two nations" according to FOX News.[53]

Gross domestic product

[edit]

Estimated to drop by 25% in 2019, the IMF said the contraction in Venezuela's GDP—the largest since the Libyan Civil War began in 2014—was affecting all of Latin America.[2] In 2015 the Venezuelan economy contracted 5.7% and in 2016 it contracted 18.6% according to the Venezuelan central bank.[55]

Oil generates about 96% of Venezuela's export revenues; oil prices have fallen when the country faces runaway inflation and a severe scarcity of basic products.

In reference to the anti-government protests that shook Venezuela earlier this year,[clarification needed] smuggling and of hoarding essential products, the central bank said that those "actions against the national order prevented the full distribution of basic goods to the population, as well as the normal development of the production of goods and services. This resulted in an inflationary upturn and a fall in economic activity".[citation needed]

Inflation

[edit]
The value of one US dollar in Venezuelan bolívares fuertes (before 20 August 2018) and soberanos on the black market through time, according to DolarToday.com. Blue and red vertical lines represent every time the currency has lost 99% of its value. This has happened almost five times since 2012, meaning that the currency is worth, as of November 2020, almost 1 billion times less than in August 2012.

Inflation in Venezuela remained high during Chávez's presidency. By 2010, inflation removed any advancement of wage increases.[56] The inflation rate in 2014 reached 69%[57] and was the highest in the world.[58][59] It increased to 181% in 2015,[60] 800% in 2016,[55][61] 4,000% in 2017[62] and 2,295,981% in February 2019.[63]

In November 2016, Venezuela entered a period of hyperinflation.[64] The Venezuelan government "essentially stopped" producing inflation estimates in early 2018.[65]

From 2017 to 2019, some people became video game gold farmers and could be seen playing games such as RuneScape to sell in-game currency or characters for real currency; gamers could make more money than salaried workers by earning only a few dollars per day.[66][67] In the 2017 Christmas season, some shops stopped using price tags since prices would inflate so quickly.[68]

In August 2018, Maduro announced a new currency, the sovereign bolívar, to fight hyperinflation. The new currency replaced the existing paper bolivar at a rate of 1/100,000: a 100,000 bolivar note becoming a 1 sovereign bolivar note. The new bills were introduced on 20 August 2018.[69]

At the end of 2018, inflation had reached 1.35 million percent.[70]

According to Bloomberg, Venezuela's inflation is expected to reach 8 million percent in 2019, making it the world's most miserable economy. The country continues to top Bloomberg's Misery Index for the fifth year straight.[71]

Shortages

[edit]

Shortages in Venezuela became prevalent after price controls were enacted according to the economic policy of the Hugo Chávez government.[72][73] Under the economic policy of the Nicolás Maduro government, greater shortages occurred due to the Venezuelan government's policy of withholding United States dollars from importers with price controls.[74]

Shortages occur in regulated products, such as milk, meat, chicken, coffee, rice, oil, precooked flour, and butter; and also basic necessities like toilet paper, personal hygiene products and medicine.[72][75][76] Some Venezuelans must search for food—occasionally resorting to eating wild fruit or garbage—wait in lines for hours and sometimes settle without having certain products.[77]

Unemployment

[edit]

Unemployment was forecasted to reach 44% for 2019; the IMF stated that this was the highest unemployment seen in the world since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995.[2]

Venezuelan's unemployment rate hit 17.4% at the end of June 2017, with the jobless total having doubled over 12 months, when two million people lost their jobs.[78] In January 2016 the unemployment rate was 18.1 percent[79] and the economy was the worst in the world according to the misery index.[80] Venezuela has not reported official unemployment figures since April 2016, when the rate was at 7.3 percent.[81]

Due to the inflation and expropriations by the Venezuelan government to private companies, many others left the country, which in turn increased unemployment for those remaining. Likewise, the salary increase at the end of 2016 brought the dismissal of half of the employees of large companies (Corpoelec, Imaseo, etc.).[citation needed]

After having completed substantial improvements over the second half of the 1990s and during the 2000s, which put a few regions on the brink of full employment, Venezuela suffered a severe setback in 2015, when it saw its unemployment rate surging to 1994 levels.[citation needed]

Venezuelan debt

[edit]

In August 2017 President of the United States Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Venezuela[82] which banned transactions involving Venezuela's state debt including debt restructuring. The technical default period ended 13 November 2017 and Venezuela didn't pay coupons on its dollar eurobonds, causing a cross default on other dollar bonds. A committee consisting of the fifteen largest banks admitted default on state debt obligations which in turn entailed payments on CDS on 30 November.[83]

In November 2017, The Economist estimated Venezuela's debt at US$105 billion and its reserves at US$10 billion.[84] In 2018, Venezuela's debt grew to US$156 billion[85] and as of March 2019, its reserves had dropped to US$8 billion.[86]

With the exception of PDVSA's 2020 bonds,[87] as of January 2019, all of Venezuela's bonds are in default,[88] and Venezuela's government and state-owned companies owe nearly US$8 billion in unpaid interest and principal.[89] As of March 2019, the government and state-owned companies have US$150 billion in debt.[86]

The risk premium began to skyrocket at the end of 2014 to a record high of 3,181 basis points. The risk premium set a record in August 2017, recording 5,000 basis points exceeding eight times Greece's risk premium.[90]

Prices

[edit]

Due to the lack of its own resources, Venezuela has traditionally exported all its oil abroad, so the energy crisis of 2014 produced a strong inflationary trend. In June 2013, accumulated inflation in the last twelve months was 56.2%. The sharp drop between 2014 and 2016 in the price of oil, sparked fears of a risk of hyperinflation. In 2015, Venezuela reached the highest inflation rate in the last 35 years, and in March 2016 there was hyperinflation for the first time in recorded history. In October 2016, the economy continued to contract while inflation increased again. Between 2017 and 2018, prices rose 2616% - this increase combined with austerity measures and high unemployment negatively impacted the living standards of Venezuelans. At the same time the average wages decreased (real) and the purchasing power was significantly reduced.[citation needed]

Ratings

[edit]

In the beginning of the crisis, Venezuela's credit ratings were downgraded to "junk territory" or below investment grade with negative outlooks according to most rating agencies.[91][74][92] In a little more than one year, Standard and Poor's downgraded Venezuela's credit rating three times; from B+ to B in June 2013,[93] B to B− in December 2013[91] and from B− to CCC+ in September 2014.[74] Fitch Ratings also lowered each of Venezuela's credit ratings in March 2014 from B+ to B[94] and even lower from B to CCC in December 2014.[95] In December 2013, Moody's Investors Service also downgraded both Venezuela's local (B1) and foreign currency (B2) ratings to Caa1.[92] The noted reasons of credit rating changes were the greatly increased likelihood of economic and financial collapse due to the Venezuelan government's policies and an "out of control" inflation rate.[74][92][94]

In July 2017, Standard & Poor's lowered both the domestic and foreign credit ratings of Venezuela to CCC− due to the increasing risk of default.[96] Fitch Ratings followed suit in August 2017, lowering local and foreign credit ratings to CC.[97] In November 2017 Standard & Poor's rated Venezuela in technical default and Fitch ratings rated Venezuela's oil company PDVSA in restrictive default - one rank above full default.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Data cover central government debt as well as the debt of state-owned oil company PDVSA. The data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, some debt issued by subnational entities as well as intragovernmental debt which consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds such as for retirement, medical care and unemployment. Some debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "La crisis venezolana ya tiene nombre: Gran depresión económica". 23 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Biller, David and Patricia Laya (9 April 2019). "Venezuela unemployment nears that of war-ruined Bosnia, IMF says". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Venezuela ranked world's most miserable economy, Singapore is third-least". The Straits Times. Bloomberg. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Population, total – Venezuela, RB". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. ^ IMF (10 October 2023). "Venezuela's economic outlook". International Monetary Found. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  8. ^ de 2024, 9 de January (9 January 2024). "Venezuela, el país en el que una inflación de 193% puede ser una buena noticia". elpais (in European Spanish).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "BCV: Inflación de 2023 fue de 189,8% |". www.elnacional.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  10. ^ EFE (21 February 2018). "Encovi: 61, 2% de los venezolanos está sumido en pobreza extrema". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. UNDP. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Labor force, total – Venezuela, RB". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Sociales Fuerza de Trabajo". Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Venezuela facts and figures". Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  16. ^ a b c "Venezuela". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  17. ^ "Venezuela's Bondholder Meeting Is a Bust as S&P Declares Default". Bloomberg. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  18. ^ "Moody's downgrades Venezuela rating by two notches". Reuters. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Fitch Downgrades Venezuela's LTFC Rating to 'RD'". Fitch Ratings. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  20. ^ "BCV Reservas Internacionales". BCV. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  21. ^ Lieuwen, Edwin; Heckel, Heather D.; McCoy, Jennifer L.; Martz, John D. (25 April 2021). "Venezuela". Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Venezuela: All you need to know about the crisis in nine charts". BBC News. 27 January 2019.
  23. ^ a b c "Lawyers as sex workers. Ex-bureaucrats as maids. How Venezuelans became Latin America's new underclass". Washington Post. 2018.
  24. ^ Turkewitz, Julie; Herrera, Isayen (24 September 2023). "Why Are So Many Venezuelans Going to the United States?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Venezuela country profile". BBC News. 19 September 2012.
  26. ^ Anthony, Craig (12 September 2016). "10 Countries with the Most Natural Resources". Investopedia.
  27. ^ "Risque pays du Venezuela : Commerce international". Societe Generale, Import Export solutions (in French). 1 May 2018. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018. Traditionnellement, le pétrole représente plus de 95% des exportations du Venezuela. Le pays exporte aussi du fer, de la bauxite et de l'aluminium, des produits agricoles, des produits semi-manufacturés, des véhicules et des produits chimiques. Les principaux clients du Venezuela sont la Chine, l'Inde et Singapour. Le pays importe des produits manufacturés et de luxe, des machines et des équipements pour le secteur des transports, du matériel de construction et des produits pharmaceutiques. Les principaux fournisseurs du Venezuela sont les Etats-Unis, la Chine et le Brésil.
  28. ^ López Maya, Margarita (2016). El ocaso del chavismo: Venezuela 2005–2015. Editorial Alfa. pp. 349–51. ISBN 9788417014254.
  29. ^ "Venezuela's currency: The not-so-strong bolívar". The Economist. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  30. ^ Mander, Benedict (10 February 2013). "Venezuelan devaluation sparks panic". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^ "Venezuela's economy: Medieval policies". The Economist. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  32. ^ "Terminal Risks for Independent Fiscal Institutions: Lessons from IFIs in Hungary and Venezuela". Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  33. ^ Kurmanaev, Anatoly (17 May 2019). "Venezuela's Collapse Is the Worst Outside of War in Decades, Economists Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  34. ^ Cristóbal Nagel, Juan (13 July 2015). "Looking into the Black Box of Venezuela's Economy". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  35. ^ Hanke, Steve (1 January 2019). "Venezuela's Hyperinflation Hits 80,000% Per Year in 2018". Forbes. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  36. ^ Herrero, Ana Vanessa; Malkin, Elisabeth (16 January 2017). "Venezuela Issues New Bank Notes Because of Hyperinflation". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  37. ^ Alhadeff, Samuel (October 2018). "Venezuelan Emigration, Explained" (PDF). www.wilsoncenter.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  38. ^ Gillespie, Patrick (14 November 2017). "Venezuela just defaulted, moving deeper into crisis". CNNMoney. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  39. ^ "Venezuela in 'selective default'". BBC News. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  40. ^ Background Note: Venezuela U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  41. ^ Caballero, Miguelangel (26 June 2022). "Más de USD 9.400 millones al año dejan las economías ilícitas en Venezuela". Transparencia Venezuela (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  42. ^ Luján, Raylí (28 June 2022). "Volumen de operaciones ilegales en Venezuela es equivalente a 21% del PIB: Informe". Bloomberg (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  43. ^ Soto, Naky (28 June 2022). "Illegal Activities Make Up 21% of Venezuela's GDP". Caracas Chronicles. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  44. ^ Board, Editorial; Board, Editorial (11 February 2016). "Prepare for the worst: Venezuela is heading toward complete disaster". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  45. ^ Hanke, John H. "Measuring Misery around the World". The CATO Institute. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  46. ^ "Steve H. Hanke". Cato Institute. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  47. ^ "Individual country ratings and status". Freedom House. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  48. ^ Vyas, Kejal (7 November 2018). "Venezuelans despair as companies flee". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  49. ^ Buitrago, Deisy and Fabián Andrés Cambero (6 July 2018). "Venezuela's domestic airline industry suffers amid economic crisis". Reuters. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  50. ^ Mandel, Eric (1 August 2017). "Delta pulling last direct flight from Atlanta to Venezuela". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  51. ^ Tanzi, Christine Jenkins (9 August 2017). "Why airlines hate flying to Venezuela". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  52. ^ "American Airlines suspends flights to Venezuela over safety concerns". NBC News. Associated Press. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  53. ^ a b Suarez Sang, Lucia I (8 April 2019). "US-blacklisted Iranian airline begins direct flights to Venezuela". FOX News. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  54. ^ "Mahan Air inaugura vuelo directo entre Irán y Venezuela" [Mahan Air inaugurates direct flight between Iran and Venezuela]. NTN 24 (in Spanish). 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  55. ^ a b Pons, Corina (20 January 2017). "Venezuela 2016 inflation hits 800 percent, GDP shrinks 19 percent". Reuters. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  56. ^ López Maya, Margarita (2016). El ocaso del chavismo: Venezuela 2005-2015. ????. pp. 354–355. ISBN 9788417014254.
  57. ^ "Venezuela 2014 inflation hits 68.5 pct - Central Bank". 13 February 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  58. ^ "Venezuela annual inflation 180 percent". Reuters. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  59. ^ Patton, Mike (9 May 2014). "The Three Countries with the Highest Inflation". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  60. ^ "Venezuela annual inflation 180 percent: opposition newspaper". Reuters. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  61. ^ Venezuela country profile (Economy tab), World in Figures. Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2017. (Retrieved 14 June 2017.)
  62. ^ Sequera, Vivian (21 February 2018). "Venezuelans report big weight losses in 2017 as hunger hits". Reuters. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  63. ^ "Au Venezuela, l'inflation annuelle avoisine les 2 millions pour cent" (in French). Le Figaro. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  64. ^ Hanke, Steve (18 August 2018). "Venezuela's Great Bolivar Scam, Nothing but a Face Lift". Forbes. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  65. ^ Krauze, Enrique (8 March 2018). "Hell of a Fiesta". New York Review of Books. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
    * Goodman, Joshua; Alonso Lugo, Luis (19 April 2018). "US officials: 16 nations agree to track Venezuela corruption". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  66. ^ Rosati, Andrew (5 December 2017). "Desperate Venezuelans Turn to Video Games to Survive". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  67. ^ Doug Dubrowski (26 March 2019). "Playing for Their Lives: How a 2001 Video Game Is Feeding Venezuela". National Interest.
  68. ^ "Tiendas de ropa eliminan etiquetas y habladores para agilizar aumento de precios | La Region". Diario La Region (in European Spanish). 12 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  69. ^ Casey, Nicholas (16 August 2018). "Venezuela Cuts to Fight Inflation (Zeroes From Its Currency, That Is)". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  70. ^ Phillips, Tom (10 January 2019). "Maduro starts new Venezuela term by accusing US of imperialist 'world war'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  71. ^ "The World's Most Miserable Economy Has Seven-Figure Inflation". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  72. ^ a b "Venezuela's currency: The not-so-strong bolívar". The Economist. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  73. ^ Ferdman, Roberto A. (26 March 2014). "Venezuela's black market rate for US dollars just jumped by almost 40%". Quartz. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  74. ^ a b c d Dulaney, Chelsey; Vyas, Kejal (16 September 2014). "S&P Downgrades Venezuela on Worsening Economy Rising Inflation, Economic Pressures Prompt Rating Cut". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  75. ^ "La escasez también frena tratamientos contra cáncer". Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  76. ^ "Venezuela sufre escasez de prótesis mamarias". Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  77. ^ Sanchez, Fabiola (8 June 2016). "As hunger mounts, Venezuelans turn to trash for food". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
    * "Why are Venezuelans posting pictures of empty shelves?". BBC. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
    * Cawthorne, Andrew (21 January 2015). "In shortages-hit Venezuela, lining up becomes a profession". Reuters. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
    * MacDonald, Elizabeth (26 May 2016). "Exclusive: Harrowing Video Shows Starving Venezuelans Eating Garbage, Looting". Fox Business. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
    * "Mangoes fill the gaps in Venezuela's food crisis". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Reuters. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  78. ^ "Central obrera cifra en 18,5% la tasa de desempleo en Venezuela". EntornoInteligente. 26 June 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  79. ^ "Unemployment rate by World".
  80. ^ "Venezuela deve continuar como economia mais miseravel do mundo". economia.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). 4 February 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  81. ^ Chinea, Eyanir (2 March 2017). "Job losses, low wages add to Venezuela economic hardship". Reuters. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  82. ^ "Executive Order 13808 of August 24, 2017" (PDF). US Department of Treasury, Resource Center. Federal Register.
  83. ^ "Final List of Deliverable Obligations for the 2017 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Credit Derivatives Auction Settlement Terms". cbonds.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  84. ^ Gibbs, Stephen (15 November 2017). "President Maduro brings Venezuela to brink of bankruptcy". The Times. London. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  85. ^ Heeb, Gina (7 March 2019). "Venezuela's debt has exploded to $156 billion, according to a new report". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  86. ^ a b Lugo, Luis Alonso (8 March 2019). "World Bank: Venezuela must pay Conoco more than $8 billion". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  87. ^ Parraga, Marianna and David French (21 March 2019). "U.S. refiner Citgo taking offers on $1.8-billion, three-year loan: sources". Reuters. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  88. ^ Pons, Corina and Rodrigo Campos (16 January 2019). "Venezuela bonds rally as opposition challenges Maduro". Reuters. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  89. ^ Armas, Mayela (11 January 2019). "Venezuela bondholders say they will not negotiate with Maduro". CNBC. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  90. ^ elEconomista.es. "Venezuela dispara su riesgo de impago: es ocho veces superior al de Grecia - elEconomista.es".
  91. ^ a b "S&P cuts Venezuela credit rating to B-minus". Al Jazeera. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  92. ^ a b c "Moody's downgrades Venezuela to Caa1; outlook negative". Moody's Investors Service. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  93. ^ Bases, Daniel (17 June 2013). "Update 2 – S&P downgrades Venezuela's sovereign credit rating to B". Reuters. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  94. ^ a b "Fitch Downgrades Venezuela to 'B'; Outlook Negative". Reuters. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  95. ^ "Fitch Downgrades Venezuela's IDRs to 'CCC'". Reuters. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  96. ^ "Venezuela Cut Deeper into Junk by S&P". Bloomberg.com. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  97. ^ DeFotis, Dimitra (30 August 2017). "Venezuela Bond Default 'Probable' Fitch Downgrade Says". Barron's. Retrieved 31 August 2017.