The Real Story of Venezuela's Economic Crisis with Ben Norton & Chris Jeffries | HR CLIPS

Ben Norton attributes Venezuela's economic crisis to the US-imposed economic embargo, which prevented the country from producing and exporting its crucially important oil resource. This embargo, coupled with the Dutch disease resulting from Venezuela's reliance on oil and unequal distribution of wealth before Hugo Chavez's presidency, created a dependency on natural resources and hindered the development of other industries. During Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution, oil wealth was used to fund social programs, creating housing units, healthcare, and education for millions. However, when the US imposed sanctions in the late 2010s, the heavy reliance on oil and technology from US companies caused significant problems. While socialist policies were implemented, the crisis was not caused by socialism, and the economic decline served as a warning about the potential dangers of dollarization, or selling oil in a currency other than the US dollar. Key Moments: 00:00:00 US-imposed economic