#debt default

Venezuela: A Financial History — From the Oil Bonanza to Hyperinflation and the Debt Default

This article explores Venezuela's macroeconomic history, from its colonial agricultural economy through the transformative oil discovery of 1922 and the nationalization of the 1970s. It details the 1980s debt crisis, the market-oriented Caldera reforms, and the dramatic policy shifts under the Bolivarian Revolution. Finally, it analyzes the catastrophic hyperinflationary period and the subsequent 2017 sovereign and corporate debt default.