Case: Venezuela and the case for Economic Overview:
The last 100 years of world economic thought have been characterized by an ideological
tug of war called the battle of ideas Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the
leaders of the Soviet Union established a centrally planned economy and put Moscow in
charge by contrast, in the United states and many other Western nations, free market
capitalism was the order of the day After the stock market collapse of 1925 and the Great
Depression of the 1930s, however the wisdom of laissez-faire economic policies and free
markets was called into question Maybe the Soviet model was the best one? Should the
government, in fact, play a central role in the economy?
Fast forward to the present day: although the Soviet Union is long gone, there are still
plenty of examples of countries where the government leaders attempt to control the
economy Venezuela is a case in point After assuming the presidency in 1999, Hugo
Chavez, toyed with the idea of pursuing a "third way" to economic growth That approach,
suggested by then British Prime minister Tony Blair was a mashup of socialism and
capitalism- that is "capitalism with a human face "
However, it wasn’t long before Chavez began espousing socialist policies for his country
while vilifying the United States "Chavismo" was the rallying cry of the president’s one
man revolution: Venezuela’s rich oil reserves provided resources for Chavez to rally
popular support with voters In addition , Chavez provide Cuba and other Latin American
neighbors with aid, mostly in the form of cheap oil through an energy pact known as
Petrocaribe Chavez died in March 2013 By 2015, with oil prices plummeting Venezuela
faced an economic crisis that deepened with every passing week Venezuela’s inflation rate
is currently 60%, the highest in the world Even so, many in the Latin American nation of
29 million people still proclaim themselves to be "Chavistas" The case describes the
challenges facing Venezuela in the current economic climate Needless to say, the problems
in Venezuela’s economy have created both challenges and opportunities for global
marketers
The situation in Venezuela illustrates vividly the dynamic integrated nature of today’s
economic environment
Requirements:
You have to read the case (Attached) very well, provide an overview of the case, and
answer the three questions:
1 President Chavez held office for 14 years, despite all of the shortages in Venezuela’s
economy How do you explain this?
2 Many Venezuelans still proclaim themselves to be "Chavistas" How do you account or
explain this phenomenon? 3 Can Venezuela afford to maintain its Petrocaribe program of subsidized oil exports?
References: Anytime you refer to ideas that are not your own, you MUST refer to the
source both in-text and in the reference page at the end of your essay Use APA referencing
style when you write up your paper Ensure that your paper contains a page for references
Refer to http://wwwapastyleorg/indexaspx or
http://wwwlibrarycornelledu/resrch/citmanage/apa for more information about proper
citation Specifics: Provide an overview of the case, and then answer in full sentences the three
questions
A mastery of course material and concepts to date, to be demonstrated within your paper Create a title page, insert page numbers and create a professional document Proper APA 6th Edition referencing is essential Be absolutely certain to include a
properly formatted list of references and accurate in-text citations Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, flow of thought, clarity of ideas and
creativity The paper should be between 650 – 800 words, plus title page and reference page,
12 size font, 15 line spacing and normal margins