>> because of bad policy stemming from at least a nominal socialist agenda The oil price cop-out is one of the go to excuses for Venezuela. Another common one

>> because of bad policy stemming from at least a nominal socialist agenda The oil price cop-out is one of the go to excuses for Venezuela. Another common one is the death of Chavez. Both are debunked by the fact that the current problems are nothing more than a worsening of problems that began [1] before either Chavez's death or the oil price drop. Venezuela is nothing more than the natural progression of extreme leftist government. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/world/americas/venezuela-faces-shortages-in-grocery-staples.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/world/americas/venezuela-f... (at the time of that story -- April 2012 -- oil was above $100/bbl)