United States-Venezuela Relations and Economic Development from 2017-2020

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VI, June 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

United States-Venezuela Relations and Economic Development from 2017-2020

Dr. Tamunopubo Big-Alabo & Nnenna Sylvia Okafor
Department of Political and Administrative Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT
The study examined United States-Venezuela relations and economic development 2017-2020. The theory that was used for the study was the hegemonic theory by Antonio Gramsci. The ex- post facto research design was used for the study. Accordingly, data was sourced through secondary sources like, textbooks, newspaper, journal articles, textbooks, and internet. Qualitatively analyses were used to analyse the data, although figures and tables were presented where required. Evidences drawn from these sources were prudently examined in order to establish a reasonable trend from which inferences were drawn. The study found that Venezuela has promoted new regional cooperation arrangements that deliberately excluded US and that through the executive orders that was issued by Donald Trump the government of Venezuelan has been prohibited from accessing US financial markets. The study suggested among others that US should stop sanctioning Venezuela as these have affected the economic development of Venezuela and United States must not intervene in the activities of Venezuela as this has divided the country which is not healthy for the development of any nation.

Keywords: Hegemony, economic development, sanctions, trade and foreign policy.

INTRODUCTION

The United States (US) and Venezuela relations trace their underlying foundations to 1835 after Venezuela attained its freedom from Spain. The two nations from history had close relations, with Venezuela having the biggest established oil assets on the planet; which serves as a significant provider of oil to the US. Nevertheless, the relationship decayed in 1998 after the liberal populist front-runner Hugo Chávez was chosen as Venezuela’s leader and was accused by the US for not regarding infringement of human rights, defilement, separation of power among others. Chávez utilized the income gotten from the oil company of the nation to finance his ‘‘Chavismo plan’’; spending more than $716 billion on social projects within 1999 and 2014, giving over $62 billion in securities from the oil company of the nation and acquiring assets from China and Russia to supplement. Defilement additionally was and remains rampant with an announced over $300 billion in the state oil income funds stole during the previous decade (Benzaquen, 2017). Chávez passed on in the year 2013 and Nicolás Maduro, his vice, became the president. Maduro acquired an economy that was on the brink of breakdown with the last blow being the 2014 global drop in the expense of oil. Venezuela is a nation that its economy is heavily dependent on oil, the nation’s exports and earnings from oil deals making up a great part of the government spending plan. Without oil income, Maduro rather started to print additional cash in 2014 to bridge the budget deficit leading to inflation (Anatoly, 2019).

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