Venezuela's 25-year-old Bolivarian Revolution, the name given to his political movement by the late President Hugo Chavez, promised much but failed to deliver what the country needed most: a broad-based economy.
Rather than diversifying away from the oil industry, the Chávez and Maduro governments focused more on Venezuela's mineral resources.
They treated PDVSA as a money-making machine, with little concern for the future, and spent the money on social spending such as housing, health care, and transportation.
But at the same time, they have neglected to invest in maintaining oil production levels that have plummeted in recent years, partly but not entirely due to U.S. sanctions.
These problems were already evident when President Chávez died in 2013, but they have worsened under his successor.
“Under Chávez, Venezuela was able to enjoy the benefits of an oil boom until the global financial crisis hit,” said Mr. Tuvey.
“Just 15 or 20 years ago, Venezuela was a major oil producer, producing 3.5 million barrels a day, similar to some of the smaller Gulf countries.
“The oil sector is now completely devastated, with production at less than a million barrels per day.”
GDP has fallen 70% since 2013. But to finance his spending, Maduro has printed money to offset the price of oil, resulting in runaway inflation that the country has only recently managed to contain.
