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Venezuela confirms recession, inflation hits 63.6 % in Nov

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Nicolas Maduro
Venezuela confirmed Tuesday that it has entered recession, while annual inflation topped 63 percent, exacerbating the outlook for an economy already hit by crippling shortages and crashing oil prices. President Nicolas Maduro ( Pic) blames his opponents

Venezuela entered a recession in 2014, with the economy shrinking in the first three quarters, the Central Bank said on Tuesday, blaming political opponents for the dismal figures.

In a statement, the bank said GDP contracted 4.8 percent in the first quarter, versus the same period of last year, then it fell a further 4.9 percent in the second quarter and shrank 2.3 percent in the third quarter.

The statement added that 12-month inflation, which is the highest in the Americas, reached 63.6 percent in November.

The central bank statement, confirming an economic contraction widely forecast by analysts, came just before President Nicolas Maduro was about to start a news conference in which he was expected to announce economic changes.

Venezuela’s socialist government blames political opponents, who protested in the streets for four months earlier this year, for damaging the South American OPEC nation’s economy. The protests resulted in violence that killed 43 people.

“These actions against public order blocked the correct distribution of basic goods to the population, as well as the normal development of production of goods and services,” the bank statement said.

“This resulted in an inflationary spike and a fall in economic activity.”

Opponents say Venezuela’s economic crisis is a consequence of 15 years of socialist policies, begun by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez, who ruled from 1999 to 2013 before his death from cancer.

“With one day of the year left, they publish the September, October and November figures. The highest in the world. Economic efficiency Nicolas! Wonderful,” scoffed opposition leader Henrique Capriles via Twitter.

Venezuela had not published inflation data since August.

Inflation in September was up 4.8 percent, October 5.0 percent and November 4.7 percent, compared with the same months of 2013, the bank said in its statement, which can be viewed at ( here )

The bank said Venezuela’s balance of payments posted a surplus of $6.8 billion by the end of the third quarter, with a current account surplus of $899 million, and the capital account showing a deficit of $568 million.

Reuters

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5 responses to “Venezuela confirms recession, inflation hits 63.6 % in Nov”

  1. arzatna1 Avatar
    arzatna1

    Venezuela’s economy will continue to fail as long as Maduro continues to apply the failed Socialist ideas that led to the collapse of communism. People are supposed to learn the lessons of history , but Maduro being a former bus driver is incapable of learning anything it seems.
    Venezuela should be one of the most prosperous countries on Earth. It has the world’s largest proven reserves of crude oil.
    Instead, Venezuela is a poverty-stricken nation that lies atop a bed of money. This paradox is solely a by-product of bad government.
    The entire country is teetering on the brink of economic collapse. The middle class has been impoverished, while the lower classes are virtually 100% reliant on government handouts.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      And Putin is ‘revisioning’ too. 😉
      Hezzbolla runs with a ‘Politburo’ …. and Voila.

      1. arzatna1 Avatar
        arzatna1

        Agreed no system is perfect for the poor

        But we know Socialist economies fail because of the corruption that is built into the system and because they are against the human nature .
        Capitalism has proven throughout history that it is the only system that can drive the economy in the most efficient and fast manner . As far as the masses are concerned Capitalism created such aid programs as food stamps, housing subsidies, scholarships, unemployment compensation, welfare etc, etc with the intention of providing the minimum requirement for people to survive in their particular environment . The idea is to teach the masses how to fish instead of feeding them the fish
        There is no reason why Venezuela could not have one of the highest per capita incomes in the world . In addition to its world’s largest proven reserves of crude oil, Venezuela has one of the most fertile lands in the world and could almost grow anything , but Chavez’s , so called Socialist economy killed the agricultural sector too. Venezuela now is a pure importer.

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          Making fewer babies and giving them ALL work with a livable wage could help more than the food stamps. You need to think about why you say ‘The Poor’. It’s said in a way reminiscent of saying ‘The Blacks’, or ‘The Irish’ or ‘The Arabs’.
          You need to go look back with some realism at the ‘Dirty 30’s’ to see how Capitalists handled things with the ‘soup kitchens’ … when anyone who couldn’t find a job was looked upon as a pariah and an inhuman member of the ‘society’ – although all were WILLING to work to feed themselves and build a shack. It’s a ‘mind-game’.
          It was ‘Socialist Thought’ which created the ‘unions of people’ who couldn’t survive alone and had to help each other communally to help themselves in ‘hobo-camps’ which were not only males, but whole families in tents (shades of Syrian refugees now) forced by that glorious ‘Crash’ of the Capitalists in ’29 to be what refugees are now.
          Of course, The Capitalist Police (hired gangs usually – it’s work, after all) beat many to death IN those camps.
          IMAGINE if there were none of those ‘socialist thoughts’ in place now, as the American Banks AGAIN with their supreme incompetence and greed crashed a few years ago …. Again the Whole World of hapless souls scrounging for a bit of food each day … ALL ‘working hours’ given simply for survival …. AGAIN people everywhere who believed in that ‘Capital Investment Plan’ jumping from windows or losing homes or living in their cars in places warm enough to not freeze to death………..
          Hmmmmm ….. there might be deaths from malnutrition, and diseases, and wars going on everywhere, and …… oh my …
          Welcome to 2015.
          THANK GOD I lived most of a life in ‘the good times’.
          Had to worry about Communists with a big bomb who perverted the ‘socialism’ for their own pockets and power over others who remain … it seems … forever ‘The Poor’.
          BUT I did well. I’m alright Jack. It’s a wonderful life I’VE had.
          Why worry?

          1. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            If you wish to read up on how to survive with nothing, I recommend a couple of books by a ‘fellow-traveller’ named Barry Broadfoot. (yes, a Canadian, sorry)
            ‘The Pioneer Years’ … 1895-1914
            ‘Ten Lost Years’ … 1929-1939
            (they don’t teach this stuff in school)

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