Mark Weisbrot continues in denial of the Venezuelan economic collapse.

In a recent text published in The Guardian Chavez's gun slinger in Washington coninues denying that Venezuela faces an economic crisis. He says: " Given the Venezuelan government's very low public and foreign debt, the idea the country is facing an "economic crisis" is simply wrong. With oil at about $80 a barrel, Venezuela is running a sizeable current account surplus, and has a healthy level of reserves. Furthermore, the government can borrow internationally as necessary - last month China agreed to loan Venezuela $20 billion in an advance payment for future oil deliveries".

Although Weisbrot is an expert in economics and I am not, I cannot understand how he can deny that Venezuela faces an economic crisis of significance. The sign of financial health for a country cannot simply be the size of the public debt in comparison with the GDP. Any Venezuelan who finds no food in the markets, suffers lack of basic services and cannot travel freely due to lack of foreign currency, will tell you that the economy is in shambles.
The argument that Venezuela can borrow internationally is even less comforting. One of the signs of economic crisis is precisely the manner in which Chavez is getting in debt to keep pilfering money, both at home and abroad. The mortgage of oil for 20 or more years to the Chinese, in order to get money for current expenditures of dubious nature and to feed the increasing corruption in the regime, is a crime that will deepen the economic crisis, not something to be shown as a positive sign. Of course, Weisbrot does not care less. He is simply going through the motions of defending what cannot be defended.
The Venezuelan debt currently surpasses the $100 billion mark, five times the level of debt Chavez found. He has also received over $600 billion in oil income. Where is this money?
Look at the garbage in Venezuelan cities!! Chavez is borrowing $142 million from the IADB in Washington to pick up the garbage. I call this a good sign of economic disaster, at a time in which one of Chavez' s "boliburgueses" brags of having net assets of $1.6 billion. (Ricardo Fernandez Berrueco), made in just four years.
Weisbrot must feel very lonely nowadays in his role of Chavez's champion in Washington.