Source: Sputnik Mundo
What it’s about: The article is a summary of the Voces del Mundo program, hosted by Telma Luzzani, which covered the topics of the new Venezuelan economic plan and the Trump presidency. On the topic of President Nicolas Maduro’s new economic plan, Luzzani spoke to Ingerzón Freites, a Venezuelan economist, university professor and researcher at the Venezuelan Observatory for Economic Reality (OVRE) in Spanish. Freites spoke highly of the plan: “For the first time we have an integral economic plan. In that, every economist agrees, no matter if they are a part of the opposition or pro-government.” Freites continued by saying there was no doubt Maduro had previously spoken to the most important economic actors in the country to create this plan, suggesting there were firms ready to invest in Venezuela.
What’s false about it: Before addressing Freites’ claims, we should dig into his background. A quick search shows he is quite outspoken in his support for the Venezuelan government; in 2016 he was designated as the Manager of the Costs, Earnings and Fair Prices Department of the National Superintendence for the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights (SUNDDE). A supposed university professor and researcher at the aforementioned OVRE, there is no information online indicating the name of the university where he is a professor. A Google search of OVRE leads to either a nonexistent website or a Facebook page followed by six people with one post from 2015.
What economists have actually been saying about the plan is that it is likely to escalate the crisis, possibly driving inflation even higher than the 1,000,000% inflation projected by the International Monetary Fund this year. In Venezuela, the country’s main business organization, Fedecamaras, slammed the economic plan and said it will cause confusion and put private firms at serious risk of bankruptcy. Citizens across Venezuela have expressed their confusion about the new plan.