How much has Venezuela's GDP per capita fallen since Maduro came to power?

How much has Venezuela’s GDP per capita fallen since Maduro came to power?

This Sunday, July 28, Venezuelans will go to the polls again to elect a new president. This time there is greater hope that Nicolás Maduro will close a mandate that has already lasted 11 years, the popular voice prevails, which according to the polls 59.1% is with the opposition candidate Edmundo González, the country emerges from the economic crisis and even the migrants return.

13 years ago, when I was vice president, Maduro took over the presidency after the death of former President Hugo Chavez, GDP per capita was at US$8,692, and by 2023 it reached US$3,659 and it is estimated that by 2024 it will be US$3,867, which represents a drop of US$4,825 since he came to power.

But if you look at Chavez’s term, from 2002 to 2013, the highest level of GDP per capita was recorded compared to the historical record since 1985., In 2012, GDP per capita reached its highest point of US$12,688, so the drop is not exclusively due to the political spectrum.

Manuel Camilo González, professor of International Relations at the Universidad Javeriana, explained that the difference in GDP per capita between the two governments is explained by the fact that Chavez enjoyed the commodities boom, which allowed Venezuela to export more crude oil and obtain more income with which to finance projects.

“With Maduro we have an opposite case; the boom begins and coincides with the end of this boom, so the government is limited in its social spending and its expansionary policies. Even higher rents in good times generated debts that could not be paid in bad times.”

In addition to the international context, González points out that when Maduro came to power, the oil sector became politicized, which affected the transparency and management of PDVSA, generating cases of corruption in the distribution of oil revenues between Maduro, important actors of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV, and the military; These characteristics, combined with hyperinflation, would mean that per capita GDP would become increasingly smaller.