Venezuela has the most oil out of any nation, with 18% of the world’s oil reserves, according to Worldometer; oil production has set the foundation of its economy on oil sales. The president, Nicolas Maduro, had to suffer the consequences of the country being a petrostate when 2011 oil prices plummeted. When oil prices drop, it causes hyperinflation in Venezuela, which has reached astronomical levels, like in 2018 when inflation hit 130,000 percent. This time of inflation caused the country to go into a recession, which led to a scarcity of necessities for the Venezuelan people.
President Nicolas Maduro
The U.S. Government claims that Maduro has stolen billions of dollars from citizens while other parts of the Venezuelan Government participated in drug trafficking and stole gold from the banks. Maduro’s family has taken part in the corruption as well when his stepsons used the food program there, called CLAP, to money launder and steal money from the civilians of Venezuela. He also hurt the country without corruption by deciding to print more money. Printing more money causes the value of the country’s currency to go down; for example, if the average monthly income in a country is $2,000 and use $1000 to buy groceries but the government starts giving everyone $2000, people might start buying more groceries which would lead to an increase in the value of groceries. Venezuela’s dollar became “virtually worthless,” according to the U.S. Embassy in Chile. The inflation has decreased in recent years, but Venezuelans still have difficulty sustaining their everyday lives as they can’t afford the essential items and services they need.
The people of Venezuela have recognized Maduro’s corruption and the negative impact he’s had on the people, and in 2024, an election was held. The election was supposed to be between Nicolas Maduro and Maria Corina Machado. Still, Maduro banned Machado from the election, which led the United States to place oil sanctions on Venezuela. Another candidate, Edmundo Gonzales, stepped in at the last minute to run against Maduro, led by a landslide, with Machado claiming Edmundo received 70% of the votes. Maduro claims the election system was rigged and hacked by foreign cyber terrorists, but there is no evidence showing that anybody hacked into the system in favor of Edmundo Gonzales. The government denied Edmundo’s victory, allowed Maduro to remain president, and blocked members of the socialist party from being allowed to count votes.
Venezuelans waiting to vote in the Marudo versus Edmundo election
Corrupt elections have eliminated the country’s freedom for the people and the system of democracy. In 2025, Venezuela continues to be held under Maduro’s Authoritarian rule with a ranking of 13/60 for Civil Liberties and 0/40 for Political Rights. The lack of political rights and civil liberties has made it so that people have no say over who their country elects, and in any election, Maduro ends up victorious when the other candidate allegedly wins. The country has lost its sense of democracy. It has turned to illegal activities, which have caused 8 million to flee between 2014 and 2024, according to the UN Refugee Agency, due to the inability to survive on their own. There is almost nothing Venezuelans can do now as the government will shut down any possibility of a new way of life to keep the president in power and continue making money for themselves.
