Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Looking to the future, a democratic Venezuela should unleash its animal spirits and open the country’s mineral wealth to foreign direct investment without national ownership requirements. Privatization and economic liberalization are essential to secure the $58 billion needed to restore crude output to pre-oil socialism levels.

Interview with Leopoldo Lopez, former Presidential Candidate and political prisoner. First, we would like to hear what initially got you into politics? What motivated you and has it changed over time? I’ve always been interested in politics. Not in the exercise of politics as such, but in the public; being useful to address deep inequality […]

In 2016, Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro designated an area larger than the size of Portugal as a “strategic development zone” to facilitate the mining of gold and other minerals. The area, called “The Orinoco Mining Arc,” includes some of the most pristine areas of the Amazon and borders Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage […]

  Declared as one of the worst humanitarian disaster in modern time[i], the global health crisis is further straining Venezuela. The country that lays on the world’s largest oil reserve, is unable to meet people’s basic needs of food, hygiene, and minimal protective equipment[ii] in times of a pandemic. To this end, on September 19, […]

Latin America has faced significant challenges and has always found ways to get ahead. The potential of Latin American countries is great and has been recognized around the world. However, we are now witnessing a crisis that endangers the democratic progress of Latin America. Nicolás Maduro’s regime has plunged Venezuela into a dire situation where […]

The events that started in January 2019 in Venezuela are driven primarily by Venezuelans’ desire for change, but for many international observers and social media commentators natural resource wealth took the spotlight. Whether it was a critique of the United States’ involvement or a thesis to explain the interests of other neighbors and major powers, […]

The Venezuelan crisis has become the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere, with more than 3 million people fleeing the country in the last few years. As conditions in the country worsen, more Venezuelans are expected to leave, causing greater instability throughout the region. Venezuela is a mixture of drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, […]

Venezuela is facing one of the biggest social collapses in modern history. The combination of economic and political unrest has mobilized millions of Venezuelans to leave their home and families behind to seek a better future, mostly to Latin American countries. With conservative estimates from around 2.6 to 3.4 million, though some reach as far […]

The problematic economic and social situation in Venezuela is well known to us by now as the topic makes at least a weekly appearance in international media outlets. Beyond the macroeconomic statistics and the high-level policy talk, these numbers and figures really affect the daily life of not only Venezuelan citizens, but also of some […]

BY KAVI PATEL Cryptocurrencies often evoke glamorous images of overnight billionaires in first-world countries and technology experts who are making blockchain their new pet project. However, the asset’s next target users come from a starkly different background. Rather than turning to cryptos for greed or technical expertise, this next wave is adopting the currency trend […]

Latin America presents a promising opportunity to resettle some of the millions of Syrian refugees in camps and urban slums in Europe.