Caracas turns to capitalism for survival

Venezuelan government makes moves to liberalise oil sector as economic sanctions push production to 50-year low

President Nicolas Maduro easily achieved his political goals in 2020, if, of course, you take Venezuela’s ever-present economic and social chaos out of the mix. He routed the hardline opposition and reinforced his power with a rigged National Assembly election victory in early December. The regime will now concentrate on economic reactivation and political consolidation. Top of the agenda are legally questionable reforms in support of urgently required investment, particularly targeting the collapsed oil sector. Crude output has sunk to its lowest in living memory and crippled the wider economy. Socialist dogma is being tactically abandoned in favour of a more pragmatic approach. Unveiled in