Pak Sahafat – 2021 marking the first year of Venezuela’s economic growth since the start of the “North American imperialist economic war” after a period of more than five years of economic crisis and severe sanctions, some estimates indicate economic growth of between 5 and 20% in this South American country this year (2022).
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency on Friday according to Sputnik Mundo website, the good news of Venezuela’s economic recovery comes as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro prefers to be more moderate and warn that there is still a long way to go.
The Caribbean country has been facing US sanctions since 2017. The Venezuelan government has so far faced more than 500 unilateral coercive measures that have deprived the people of 99% of their income.
According to Nicolas Maduro, 2021 was the first year of Venezuela’s economic growth since the beginning of the “North American imperialist economic war.” In this country, the long queues of citizens between 2017 and 2018 to buy basic household basket products have disappeared and the shortage of medicine and food has been forgotten.
US President Joe Biden’s announcement that part of the sanctions and the licensing of US and European oil companies to negotiate and resume operations in Venezuela gave more confidence to Venezuela’s economic growth. In addition, the US Treasury Department issued a limited authorization to allow US oil company Chevron to discuss possible future operations in Venezuela.
Jesus Faria, deputy chairman and chairman of the Venezuelan National Assembly’s Economy and Finance Committee, believes the complete lifting of sanctions will boost his country’s development.
He mentioned: If sanctions become more flexible or lifted, which is what we want, because this is a policy of genocide and is being pursued illegally by the arrogant government, the capacity to grow and expand our productive system will be greatly enhanced.
It has been more than a week since part of the lifting of US sanctions on the oil industry, which was approved by the Maduro government, but neither side has provided details on when the resumption of operations.
According to Bloomberg, estimates by international organizations including Spal (Latin American and Caribbean Economic Commission) and Credit Suisse indicate Venezuela’s economic growth this year is between five and 20 percent.
Faria emphasized: If we are allowed to market our oil freely in international markets and the harassment of shipping companies and countries interested in buying our oil is suspended, the growth trend will be significant.
During a recent visit to Venezuela, Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohamed Barkindo stressed that Venezuela’s oil industry had improved in a “record time” of two years.
According to the Central Bank of Venezuela, the country in 2021 was able to get out of hyperinflation after four years and achieve inflation below 50% for 12 months. According to the Central Bank of Venezuela, December 2020 was the last month of price increases of more than 50% (77.5%) in the country.
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According to the Spanish website Bloomberg, the Venezuelan Financial Observatory, an affiliated institution under the auspices of the opposition, also recorded data on inflation changes similar to those provided by the Central Bank of Venezuela, and reported an average growth of 6.8 percent in 2021. The Venezuelan government announced that its economy grew by 7.6% in the third quarter of 2021.
Government economic strategies
To revive the economy, the Venezuelan government decided to list between five and 10 percent of the shares of state-owned companies.
According to Faria, the sale of these shares does not indicate the privatization of state-owned companies.
He emphasized: It is not a process of privatization; it is a process of integrating, strengthening and using all available conditions to strengthen the national production apparatus amid the enormous problems created by factors of a geopolitical nature.
Similarly, Faria said, it would allow these companies to generate revenue and invest in the growth and development of production units that are key to the functioning of the national economy.
This Member of Parliament considered economic stability as the basis for the comprehensive development of the country and emphasized: There are two basic aspects to the overall development of the country; The economic aspect and its preservation and continuity and that it should become more and more sovereign and wealth production. Another fundamental aspect is that this wealth is distributed fairly among all people, which has been one of the great achievements of the revolution.
Along with economic growth, Maduro has promised to improve workers’ wages, a goal he assured “no one will stop.”
Venezuela, once the richest country in South America, has dropped from 12th in 2017 to 21st in 2019, despite having the world’s largest oil reserves (more than 300 billion barrels). .
Venezuela’s economic cycles, which have so far revolved around the oil refining and export industry, accounting for 50 percent of GDP and 95 percent of total exports, have reached their lowest point in recent years under US sanctions.
Despite decades of tough US sanctions and a crumbling energy infrastructure, the Venezuelan National Oil Company has surprised observers with a report on a significant increase in crude oil production for November 2021, according to the Oil Price website.
OPEC Monthly Market Report for December 2021 shows that Venezuela has produced an average of 824,000 barrels per day per day since November 2021.
During a speech at the Venezuelan Presidential Palace in Caracas, the OPEC Secretary General noted: You were able to revitalize the industry in an unprecedented time, in just two years, and I saw that each of the factories was working well, I saw how they brought production from the lowest level to almost one million, and by the end of the year, we are moving towards production of two million barrels.