Despite its massive geological endowment and receiving what could be considered the largest windfall in its economic history, Venezuela entered 2020 in the middle of an unprecedented economic crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic and turbulence in oil markets represent the latest in a string of problems that expose the country’s vulnerability.
This working paper is one of a series submitted for the Oct. 1, 2015, Baker Institute event "Currency Policy Then and Now: 30th Anniversary of the Plaza Accord."