Venezuelan economy rocked by ongoing political crisis

<p>By Beyza Binnur Donmez</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Venezuela is awash with natural resources, which in recent years have been significantly affected by high inflation, declining state revenue and continued political unrest.</p> <p>Venezuela has rich natural resources, including diamonds, bauxite, gold, iron ore, coal, natural gas and petroleum.</p> <p>But its economy depends largely on oil, which accounts for almost 98 percent of the country’s total export revenue.</p> <p>Venezuela also has an estimated 150 tons of gold reserves, the world’s 25th largest, according to a report published last June by the World Gold Council.</p> <p>After being Latin America’s second largest coal producer for about a decade, production fell sharply in 2006 after the late Hugo Chavez won a third presidential term.</p> <p>Venezuela also boasts the Western world’s second largest natural gas reserves, with an estimated 5.6 trillion cubic meters. </p> <p>The country’s proven oil reserve, meanwhile, is recognized as the world’s largest. Its crude oil is very heavy by international standards, however, meaning it must be processed by specialized refineries. </p> <p>Venezuela also continues to be one of the largest suppliers of oil to the U.S., to which it sends roughly 1.4 million barrels per day.</p> <p>In recent years, Venezuela’s mining and energy sectors have been dogged by high inflation, decreasing revenue, and ongoing political instability.</p> <p>And since Chavez's death in 2013, Venezuela’s political situation has remained beset by crisis.</p> <p>The South American country has been rocked by popular protests since Jan. 10, when President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.</p> <p>Tensions rose after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself acting president on Jan. 23 — a move supported by the U.S. and a number of European and Latin American states.</p> <p>Russia, Turkey, China, Iran, Bolivia and Mexico, for their part, have all thrown their weight behind Maduro.</p>