This is from my latest article over at Geopolitical Intelligence Services:

It wasn’t that long ago that socialists all over the world were celebrating Venezuela as an economic success story. But economists knew the country was less a success than a mirage.

The semblance of success was supplied by dumb luck, in the form of a sharp and continuous rise in oil prices during the 2000’s. That created a windfall for Venezuela, which has the biggest proven oil reserves in the world.

By now it should be blatantly obvious to even the most diehard socialist that Venezuela’s “Bolivarian revolution” has been an economic and social disaster.

Since 2013, the country’s real gross domestic product has dropped nearly 20 percent. Inflation has spiked and could very well explode into hyperinflation if President Nicolas Maduro’s regime does not change course – and soon. The Venezuelan bolivar has plummeted and ordinary citizens are above all anxious to get their hands on some good old U.S. doll

Read the rest here.