Everybody's Business How Venezuela Hit Rock Bottom
Jan 9, 2026
David Papadopoulos, an experienced journalist and Latin America economics expert, dives into the devastating economic collapse of Venezuela. He explains how oil price fluctuations, overspending, and poor governance led to hyperinflation and poverty. Dina Shanker, a Bloomberg Businessweek food columnist, discusses the impact of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs on dining trends, revealing how restaurants are adapting with smaller, protein-rich meals to cater to changing consumer appetites. It's a fascinating intersection of economics and food culture!
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Oil Booms Created Deep Economic Fragility
- Venezuela's booms from high oil prices repeatedly funded big public spending and nationalizations that became unsustainable when oil prices fell.
- Those cycles set up long-term economic fragility that paved the way for political upheaval and populist leaders like Hugo Chávez.
Miami Shopping Trips Symbolized Wealth
- David Papadopoulos recalls Venezuelans' lavish era when one-day shopping trips to Miami were common and the bolívar was strong.
- He even keeps Venezuelan bolívar notes on his desk as reminders of that past wealth.
Mismanagement Destroyed The Oil Engine
- Chávez repeated earlier mistakes by spending windfalls and nationalizing broad swaths of the economy, worsening long-term capacity.
- He also starved PDVSA of investment, collapsing oil production from millions to a fraction of past output.
