In Brazil a Big Mac is $5.54. Venezuela's economy has gone from bad to worst with the fall in oil prices. 95% of their exports are petroleum products and petroleum sales account over half of the countries GDP.
Their economic problems Are almost entirely the result of socialism. It's the poorest country in South American even though it sits on top of an ocean of oil.
Being that 95% of all exports and 45% of all revenues are due to petroleum products, I would say that most of their economic problems resulted from from a 67% fall in oil prices over the last 5 years.
The fact that 95% of all exports and 45% of all revenues are due to petroleum products shows that their economy was already fucked before the drop in oil prices. Venezuela has no industry. That's because socialism has destroyed it all. Even their oil production is dropping. Smart countries in the Middle East have diversified their economies. Dubai is no longer dependent on oil revenues.
Venezuela has been a boom and bust economy since oil was discoveries in early 20th century. Long before Hugo Chavez took over the country with his social democratic reform policies, the Venezuela economy would cave with every major fall in oil prices. The 1980s oil glut led to a debt crisis followed by years of hyperinflation very similar to what is going on now.
For most of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by corrupt despots aligned with foreign oil companies who bought oil at less than $1 a barrel while half the country lived in abject poverty. Social reforms which began late in 20th century improved the lives of the poor and low income workers but did little to widen the economic base.
What utter horseshit. Venezuela's problems are the result of socialism. if the government had driven away all foreign and domestic investment, it would not be totally dependent on the price of oil. There haven't been any major falls in the price of oil since the Reagan administration. However, you didn't hear about grocery stores with no food and hyperinflation during the Reagan administration.
The claim that foreign oil companies purchase oil for $1/bbl is utter hogwash. That may be the cost of pumping a barrel, but that doesn't mean the oil companies have to pay the government almost the market rate for oil. In fact, Venezuela has nationalized all oil production, so your claim is obvious horseshit.
The "social reforms" you referred to consist of expropriating private property, controlling prices and driving private companies out of business, debasing the currency, foreign exchange controls and countless other class leftist policies that always drive the economy into the crapper. The grocery store shelves are empty because of price controls imposed by the government, not because of the price of oil.
Of course, socialists will never admit that their schemes produce disaster, so I'm not expecting you to admit the truth. I expect you to continue dancing and deflecting.
