Sorry, Venezuela haters: this economy is not the Greece of Latin America
"Now Venezuela is facing economic problems that are warming the cockles of the haters' hearts. We see the bad news every day: consumer prices up 49% over the last year; a black market where the dollar fetches seven times the official rate; shortages of consumer goods from milk to toilet paper; the economy slowing; central bank reserves falling. Will those who cried wolf for so long finally see their dreams come true?
Not likely. In the opposition's analysis Venezuela is caught in an inflation-devaluation spiral, where rising prices domestically undermine confidence in the economy and currency, causing capital flight and driving up the black market price of the dollar. This adds to inflation, as does – in their theory – money creation by the government. And its price controls, nationalisations and other interventions have caused more structural problems. Hyperinflation, rising foreign debt and a balance-of-payments crisis will mark the end of this economic experiment.
But how can a government with more than $90bn in oil revenue end up with a balance-of-payments crisis? Well, the answer is: it can't, and won't. In 2012 Venezuela had $93.6bn in oil revenues, and total imports in the economy were $59.3bn. The current account was in surplus to the tune of $11bn, or 2.9% of GDP. Interest payments on the public foreign debt, the most important measure of public indebtedness, were just $3.7bn. This government is not going to run out of dollars. The Bank of America's analysis of Venezuela last month recognised this, and decided as a result that Venezuelan government bonds were a good buy."
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The misinformation for capitalists hungers for oil profits stripped from them is the reason for the hate, and far too many are buying it.
Bank of America has done the work for you.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/07/venezuela-not-greece-latin-america-oil-poverty
The report is from 9 months ago, but the Bank of America analysis is unchanged.
Indeed the economy is in a downturn not unlike the downturn in America in 2009, but calling it a basket case is a basket case argument.
Current data shows GDP to deficit and debt rates less than America. Note the country has been in far worse shape at least two times before....all that oil....impossible not to be able to recover.
http://www.quandl.com/c/venezuela/venezuela-economy-data
= new reply since forum marked as read
Sure the corrupt government will still be able to sell oil and pay off its debts (just like Saudi Arabia and Russia), but I'm not sure how the people who essentially have to pay 1.49 times what they used to for all their stuff, or who lost 49% of all their savings, or who are banned from from buying more than a certain amount of stuff from overseas due to currency controls, or who have to resort to illegal black markets to convert their money to something useful, can see this as good news. My biggest worry, actually, is that the oil producing government does what the Saudi government does: keep selling oil, and just keeps giving everyone some money every month. Sure, it keeps people not poor, but in Saudi Arabia that led to practically everyone going to college only for a degree in theology, and as soon as that oil runs out, we'll have a country with no economy, where no one knows how to do anything 
(Russia is practically like that now)
