Maduro was not Venezuela's president. He's not their leader. He's a criminal that inherited the country from another criminal, Chavez, who, as a matter of fact, tried a real coup in the early 90's and managed to get in power a few years later because the oil barons needed to make the price of oil to go up. Remember how the whole thing in Venezuela and turmoil in the middle east started happening at almost the same time?
Venezuela actually played a key role in making the price of oil go up
after it had collapsed in the late 1990s.
Oil Price Collapse (Late 1990s)
In 1998, oil prices were very low, falling temporarily below $10 per barrel. This price crisis was partly a result of:
- Global oversupply: There was an imbalance of supply and demand, with production outpacing demand.
- Venezuela's policy at the time: Under pressure from its state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the government pursued a policy of maximizing oil volumes and disregarding OPEC quotas, which contributed significantly to the oversupply and price crash.
Oil Price Recovery (Late 1990s/Early 2000s)
The situation reversed with the election of Hugo Chávez as president in December 1998. His new government, along with the governments of Mexico and Saudi Arabia, successfully promoted a new understanding within OPEC to adhere to production cuts.
- Coordinated production cuts: The new Venezuelan oil minister traveled to other oil-producing countries and secured commitments to reduce production.
- Price increase: These actions caused the price of oil to immediately go up, from an average of $12.28 per barrel in 1998 to $17.47 per barrel in 1999, and higher still in 2000.
Therefore, Venezuela's policy shift was instrumental in the price increase that occurred at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, not earlier in the late 1990s during the period of low prices.