Submitted by 1600hazenstreet t3_10npiit in nyc
pk10534 t1_j6ddqwm wrote
Reply to comment by juniperaza in Migrants sell $2 candy bars in subway to scrape by by 1600hazenstreet
I mean, not really, to the second part. It is true the US was technically involved with Venezuela’s demise, but not as directly as you’re making it sound. Chavez hinged the entire economy and welfare state off of unusually expensive gas prices, and openly installed cronies at PdVSA. When US shale production shot up, OPEC slashed prices to kill it and in exchange the Venezuelan economy started to collapse (endemic corruption and mismanagement also seriously exacerbated the conditions). US sanctions have certainly made the situation worse, but it doesn’t take a Columbia economics professor to tell you it isn’t a good idea to budget entirely off the royalties from a commodity subject to extreme fluctuation.
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