Venezuelan crisis: economic, social drivers

Define 'Dutch Disease' and illustrate its mechanisms using a simplified diagram of a national economy with and without a booming natural resource sector.

Analyze a historical chart of oil prices versus Venezuelan GDP and government spending from 1970-1998 to identify the extent of oil dependency.

Describe the key features and power-sharing agreements of the 'Punto Fijo' political system (1958-1998).

Use a Power/Interest Grid to map the key political and economic actors (e.g., political parties, business elites, labor unions, military) in pre-Chávez Venezuela.

Explain the causes and socio-economic consequences of the 'Caracazo' riots in 1989 as a critical turning point in Venezuelan politics.

Define populism in the 20th-century Latin American context, identifying its core tenets of anti-elitism, nationalism, and charismatic leadership.

Analyze excerpts from a key Hugo Chávez speech from his 1998 presidential campaign to identify specific populist rhetoric and promises.

Analyze the 'Misiones Bolivarianas' as a tool of statecraft, explaining how their objectives and structure served both social welfare goals and the political consolidation of the Chávez government.

Explain the political and economic grievances that led to the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chávez.

Map the shifts in the Power/Interest Grid of Venezuelan society following the failure of the 2002 coup, noting the consolidation of power by Chávez.

Describe how the role and management of PDVSA, the state oil company, were altered by the Chávez administration after the 2002 oil strike.

Using a supply and demand diagram, illustrate the expected impact of government-imposed price controls on a basic good like flour, showing the creation of a shortage.

Explain the mechanism and stated purpose of Venezuela's multi-tiered currency exchange rate system (CADIVI) established in 2003.

Analyze the government's decision to expropriate a major foreign-owned agricultural company using a Positions vs. Interests framework for the government, the company, and farmworkers.

Apply a simplified Cost-Benefit Analysis framework to the 'Misión Barrio Adentro' health program, identifying its primary benefits and costs.

Given a simplified dataset of oil revenues and social spending, calculate the opportunity cost of allocating funds to the 'Misiones' versus reinvesting in oil production infrastructure.

Define hyperinflation and create a feedback loop diagram illustrating the 'inflation-devaluation' spiral in the Venezuelan context.

Analyze a chart of Venezuela's oil production, international oil prices, and import levels from 2008-2016 to pinpoint the impact of the 2014 oil price collapse.

Describe the primary mechanisms of state control and political power maintenance used by the Maduro government post-2013.

Explain the humanitarian impact of the economic crisis by describing the observed effects on two of the following: infant mortality, access to essential medicines, or rates of malnutrition.

Using a 'push-pull' framework, categorize the key factors driving Venezuelan migration to neighboring countries.

Describe the roles of China and Russia as key international allies for the Venezuelan government, identifying their primary economic and strategic interests.

Distinguish between the different types of international sanctions imposed on Venezuela (e.g., individual vs. sectoral).

Analyze the stated goals versus the principal observed effects of US oil sanctions on the Venezuelan economy and the Maduro government's stability.

Using a 2x2 game matrix, model the strategic interaction between the Maduro government and an opposition party during a negotiation.

Write a one-page policy memo, in the style of a Foreign Office briefing, summarizing the causal chain of the crisis and recommending one point of leverage for international diplomacy.