Venezuela Living Conditions Survey (ENCOVI 2016)

[Bacchus4.0]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/20/venezuelas-crisis-cause-its-people-to-cut-meals-and-lose-weight.html

Data from the latest Venezuela Living Conditions Survey (ENCOVI 2016) found around 81 percent of Venezuelan households are now living in income poverty, up from 75.6 percent in 2015.

Meanwhile, 74.3 percent of the population lost an average of 8.7 kilos of weight, or 19 pounds, and around 9.6 million Venezuelans eat two or fewer meals a day.

ENCOVI 2016 is the third annual survey of conditions in the country and is produced by academics from the Central University of Venezuela, the Andrés Bello Catholic University and the Simón Bolívar University, as well as the food and nutrition group Fundación Bengoa and other NGOs.

[Fred Sanders]

1. Here are some well researched facts versus the propaganda of industrialists and the rich:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/oct/04/venezuela-hugo-chavez-election-data

Unemployment has dropped from 14.5% of the total lab our force in 1999 to 7.6% in 2009
• Population has increased from 23,867,000 in 1999 to 29,278,000 in 2011. The annual population growth was 1.5% in 2011 compared with 1.9% in 1999
• GDP per capita has risen from $4,105 to $10,801 in 2011
• As you can see in the graphic chart, Venezuela's inflation has fluctuated since 1999. Inflation now stands at 31.6% compared with 23.6% in 1999
• Venezuela has a complicated history concerning currency exchange rates. Compared with 1999 when the exchange rate was under one bolivar to the US dollar, the latest figures from Reuters place it at 4.3 Bolivars to one dollar
• Poverty has decreased - in 1999, 23.4% of the population were recorded as being in extreme poverty, this fell to 8.5% in 2011 according to official government figures
• Infant mortality is now lower than in 1999 - from a rate of 20 per 1,000 live births then to a rate of 13 per 1,000 live births in 2011
• Violence has been a key concern in Venezuela for some time - figures from the UNODC state that the murder rate has risen since 1999. In 2011 the intentional homicide rate per 100,000 population was 45.1 compared with 25.0 just twelve years earlier
• Oil exports have boomed - Venezuela has one of the top proven oil reserves in the world and in 2011 Opec put the country's net oil export revenues at $60bn. In 1999 it stood at $14.4.

........

Granted things have deteriorated since these stats, a large part of which is due to American interference in any country that attempts to eradicate poverty rather than giveaways to the rich, but pre-Chavez was a horror show for anyone but a small elite. But you already knew that.

Facts are your friend. At least for some.

[Bacchus4.0]

2. 5 year old data and inflation is way up, oil exports are down

81% poverty as the link I just showed.

Inflation forecast at 2300% in 2018 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-10/imf-sees-venezuelan-inflation-rate-rising-beyond-2-300-in-2018

Exchange rate is 29,000 to 1 US dollar https://dolartoday.com/

Murder rate is 70 per 100,000 http://www.businessinsider.com/r-venezuela-says-murders-soared-to-60-per-day-in-2016-2017-3?r=UK&IR=T

Venezuelan oil production may tumble 20% by the end of 2017 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/venezuelan-oil-production-may-tumble-20-by-the-end-of-2017-2017-03-02

Facts are your friends at least for some.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Yet someone posted data....from 1950!?

[Bacchus4.0]

4. Oh sure, Che Obernario stated that Venezuela was NEVER the richest country in Latin America

I provided evidence that it was. That was the purpose of the post. What was yours?

[OBenario4]

5. You didn't.

You provided evidence it was an unequal country.

Nothing rich about Venezuela in the 1950s

[GatoGordo]

6. You are proof positive

that offering "proof" to a zealot is counter-intuitive.

Is there ANY source that you would approve? TeleSur? Venezuela Analysis? Mision Verdad? CounterPunch?

[Bacchus4.0]

7. I stated nothing about inequality. Some more evidence for you Obenario

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Venezuela#1960s.E2.80.931990s
Buoyed by a strong oil sector in the 1960s and 1970s, Venezuela's governments were able to maintain social harmony by spending fairly large amounts on public programs including health care, education, transport, and food subsidies. Literacy and welfare programs benefited tremendously from these conditions.[32] Because of the oil wealth, Venezuelan workers "enjoyed the highest wages in Latin America."[33] This situation was reversed when oil prices collapsed during the 1980s.

[EX500rider]

8. "a large part of which is due to American interference in any country..."

The US is Venz's largest trading partner...
What interference are you referring too?

[Fred Sanders]

9. China and Canada are by far the largest....and there was recent sanctions by America....so....

[EX500rider]

10. So sanctions last month screwed up their economy going back years?!

"China and Canada are by far the largest."
No, the US is Venz's largest trading partner for exports AND imports...

[GatoGordo]

11. Curiously, the devaluation of the Bolivar "Fuerte" since Chavismo

has surpassed 5,000,000% since El Finado took power in 1999*. It has devalued 1,000,000% in a matter of the last two months. While a case could be made that US sanctions on certain PSUV party members might effect these PSUV party members financial portfolios, it doesn't explain why the Bolivar is worth more as toilet paper than currency. Certainly freezing Delcy's ability to buy Jimmy Choo shoes and another Hermès handbag in the United States can't have that profound of an effect on the entire moribund Venezuelan economy?

Venezuelas economic disaster is fully owned by the Chavistas who pilfered the nation when it was healthy and are now picking at the carcass looking for any leftover meat. They are fully content to rule over a nation of despair and hunger rather than cede power.

*History of Bolivar devaluation
1964 Bs.4.45
1974 Bs.4.45
1990 Bs.47
1995 Bs.177
1999 Bs.576 (Chavez elected)
2000 Bs.680
2003 Bs.1600 (Chavez fires every PdVSA employee, replaces them with party loyalists)
2005 Bs. 2090
The "Bolivar Fuerte" (strong Bolivar, VEF) came into existence in 2008 when the economy imploded. (Chavez lopped off 3 zeros)
It is now getting 31,109 VEF to the dollar three days ago. It is getting 32,124 VEF today.

Anyone see a trend?