LOL, just lol @ the latest round of defeatism which wrote the US off as world power just because it hit a (rather large, admittedly) speed bump in the form of the Great Recession. The (BRIC's - C) are in the shitter with collapsing growth rates, hyperinflation, large unemployment and currency devaluations and putative regional 'rogue nations' like Venezuela are joining them.
Keep telling us how collapse is imminent and a genuine rival to US hegemony will emerge any second though
The death of pragmatismhttp://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2014/09/venezuelas-economy'Venezuela is in trouble. Such trouble, in fact, that the central bank (BCV) has not published GDP figures since the beginning of the year and is two months behind with inflation figures. Leaks from inside the BCV suggest annual inflation is now well over 60% and that GDP fell by almost 5% in the first half of 2014. Shortages of food, medicines and other basic goods, including spare parts and tyres for vehicles, have reached critical levels. Representatives of private health clinics say more than half have suspended elective surgery for lack of crucial supplies and parts for medical equipment. The government plans to address shortages by fingerprinting customers to prevent them from buying extra goods to sell on the black market.
Dependent on oil revenues for 97 out of every hundred dollars in foreign earnings, and on imports for a large part of what it consumes, the country is heavily in debt to foreign suppliers, many of whom have cut off credit. But instead of adopting an adjustment plan, the government has continued to print money and introduce ever more stringent price and exchange controls. Massive price differentials with neighbouring Colombia have fuelled the contraband trade, to which the authorities have responded by closing the border at night.
Although the president has often signalled his willingness to adopt corrective measures, he has been unable to achieve consensus among the different factions within the government. Many are ideologically opposed to what they see as “neoliberal” measures. Others merely fear the short-term consequences of price rises—including the potential loss of a majority in parliament at next year’s legislative elections. And some are making a fortune from the arbitrage opportunities offered by a dysfunctional economy.'
