Every slice of economic history is unique in some way after all, but the underlying economic laws driving economic history nevertheless remain universally and time-invariantly applicable. With respect to declining production, we have two more charts – one shows the slump in Venezuelan oil production compared to the surge in US oil production (note that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world) and the other shows official GDP growth numbers – which are only released intermittently these days. One of those policies was to fix prices on 25 basic products, including beef, chicken and eggs, all of which have since disappeared from supermarket shelves. Domestic farm production has dropped and the government can't afford to import enough food for its people. For starters, here is a log chart of the black market rate of the VEF vs. the USD (“black market rate” in this case simply means “market price”). Keith correctly points out that in Venezuela – and this is something one can observe in almost all hyperinflation cases – it is not only money printing that has triggered the slump in purchasing power, but also a collapse in production, which has happened for more than one reason. According to a recent study by the opposition-controlled National Assembly, the annual inflation rate reached 83,000 per cent in July. Maduro has launched a raft of reforms aimed at ending 4 years of recession and arresting hyperinflation the International Monetary Fund predicts will reach 1,000,000% this year.
Colombia is preparing to declare an economic and social emergency in the region of La Guajira, which borders Venezuela.