Original version

BBC World Service South Asia

The Inquiry

Documentaries

Factual

News

Getting beyond the headlines to explore the forces and ideas shaping the world

The Inquiry gets beyond the headlines to explore the trends, forces and ideas shaping the world.

No Master Brand

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC Afghan Radio

The Inquiry: Is Venezuela a failed state?

Is Venezuela a failed State?

20/07/2023 GMT

Is Venezuela a failed state?

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, Is Venezuela a failed state?

Why is oil rich Venezuela  shedding its population by the millions?

Can Presidential elections due next year rescue Venezuela from its current economic, political and humanitarian crisis?

Venezuela is the country with the largest oil deposits, yet 3 in every 4 Venezuelan lives in extreme poverty.   More than 7 million people are recorded as having left the country since 2015 in search of a better life, causing the largest ever displacement of people in Latin American history.   And it’s only surpassed in numbers by those people leaving Ukraine.
  
But Venezuela is not at war, its current humanitarian crisis is the result of years of political and economic turbulence.   International sanctions, imposed on the country with the aim of pressing the government to change its policies and restore democracy have had little impact, other than making it more difficult for Venezuela’s economy to function.
 
Presidential elections are due to be held in the country next year, but talks between the government and the opposition to ensure that they are free and fair are currently at a standstill.
  
This week on The Inquiry we’re asking ‘Is Venezuela a failed state?’

Contributors: 
Maria Gabriela Trompetero, Migration Researcher, Bielefeld University, Germany
Alejandro Velasco, Associate Professor of History, New York University, author of ‘Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela’
Dr. Luisa Palacios, Senior Research Scholar, Centre on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University
Mariano de Alba, Senior Adviser, International Crisis Group. 

Presenter:   Tanya Beckett
Producer:  Jill Collins
Researcher: Matt Toulson
Editor:  Tara McDermott
Technical Producer: Kelly Young
Production Co-ordinator:  Brenda Brown 

(Oil spills over a hand and river in Venezuela. Credit: John Harper/Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Inquiry

Is Venezuela a failed state?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service South Asia

About BBC World Service