Venezuela: continuing decline?

By: Marie-France Chatin Follow

Another signal of the deep economic slump in which Venezuela has been plunged for several years: petrol was almost free in this country which has enormous reserves of black gold.

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It has not been so since last Monday (June 1, 2020) following a decision by President Maduro who also ended the Venezuelan state monopoly on the sale of fuels. A measure made necessary due to the collapse of oil production. The phenomenon is not new, but it has increased with the coronavirus crisis. The country that ended 2019 with 200,000% inflation and whose economy became dollarized, faces a difficult shortage situation while it is full of oil, having the largest reserves in the world. A few days ago, Iranian tankers delivered petrol and other petroleum products to the socialist government of Nicolas Maduro. A delivery seen as a provocation by WDC which denounced Tehran's support for a regime deemed illegitimate. As the world is busy fighting Covid-19, Venezuela's disastrous decline continues amid mounting internal and external tensions. 

Guests:
-  Jean-Jacques Kourliandsky, researcher at Iris and director of the Latin America Observatory at the Jean Jaurès Foundation.
-  Maurice Lemoine , journalist and writer. Latin America specialist. "  Venezuela : Chronicle of a destabilization  ", ed. The cherry season. Collaborator of the Memory of Struggles site .
-  Olivier Compagnon , professor of Contemporary History at IHEAL. Co-editor of the Latin American Notebooks, ed. IHEAL.

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• Venezuela

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