Venezuelan Oil - The Unfulfilled Promise

摘要

Winston Churchill once said that 'Russia was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.' One is reminded of these words when approaching the subject of Venezuela's oil strategy in the last few years. Venezuelan politics, and by implication its economy, have always been product and hostage to oil and the capriciousness of the oil price. A founder member of OPEC, and throughout history a very vocal, and at times vociferous advocate for the rights of the sovereign state against the international oil companies, Venezuela is today the archetype of an oil-producing and exporting country that does not seem to be able to leverage its resource base into sustainable development for its population.