Economic Growth
There are two major reasons why the Gross Domestic Product has increased in Venezuela during the Chavez regime. The first being that government spending has increased to pay for all the new social programs implemented to improve the lives of Venezuelan citizens. The second is the positive increase in the countries trade balance. Imports have basically remained the same, but net exports have nearly quadrupled in the past six years. This is maily due to the restructuring of the state-owned petroleum industry and the strategies used to increase oil exports. Also, a recent trend of high oil prices have played a major role in this.
Despite Chavez's attacks against foreign and private investors through policies such as his currency control systems, investments/capital access have actually increased in Venezuela due to high crude oil prices, growth in the domestic bond market, and a strong macroeconomic environment.
Latin Business Chronicle[1]
