00:00:04
a nation in default an economy in ruins
00:00:08
a desperate struggle for millions
00:00:12
here there are so many people hungry
00:00:14
miserable without jobs
00:00:17
now after four years of crippling u.s
00:00:19
sanctions venezuelan president nicolas
00:00:22
maduro senses an opportunity
00:00:26
hopefully we can find paths of closeness
00:00:29
of respect
00:00:30
paths of mutual benefit
00:00:33
donald trump is out joe biden is in he
00:00:36
wants to negotiate a deal
00:00:40
paths that allow us to normalize
00:00:42
relations between the united states and
00:00:44
venezuela
00:00:45
but venezuela isn't a free country the
00:00:48
political opposition has been crushed
00:00:51
media are censored or controlled by the
00:00:53
state if maduro wants to end the
00:00:55
sanctions much has to change no wonder
00:00:58
there's so much skepticism
00:01:00
the socio-economic situation of
00:01:02
venezuela is like a very thin threat
00:01:05
that could break
00:01:17
this is venezuela a country that has
00:01:20
suffered one of the greatest economic
00:01:21
and humanitarian crises in modern
00:01:24
history
00:01:25
today it appears nicolas maduro and his
00:01:27
government are prepared to negotiate an
00:01:30
agreement that might end u.s sanctions
00:01:32
and pave the way for free and fair
00:01:35
elections
00:01:36
is he really ready to deal or just
00:01:38
setting the stage for another
00:01:39
disappointment
00:01:41
i'm eric shatzger and i came here to
00:01:43
talk to the power brokers who will
00:01:44
decide this country's future
00:01:46
join me as we go inside venezuela
00:01:52
less than a decade ago venezuela was the
00:01:55
richest country in latin america a
00:01:57
global oil powerhouse flushed with
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petrodollars
00:02:01
today it's one of the poorest and life
00:02:03
for millions is a struggle for survival
00:02:06
the economy has been flat on its back
00:02:07
for 22 years dragging more and more each
00:02:10
day every day hyperinflation abuses us
00:02:13
it doesn't allow us to eat it doesn't
00:02:15
allow us to get medicine
00:02:17
venezuela's decline is a story of
00:02:19
destructive domestic politics and failed
00:02:22
foreign intervention
00:02:24
it started with hugo chavez the
00:02:26
self-styled revolutionary and it
00:02:28
continues today with his chosen
00:02:29
successor president nicolas maduro
00:02:33
venezuela used to be the biggest oil
00:02:35
exporter to the united states bigger
00:02:37
than saudi arabia but since 2019
00:02:40
u.s sanctions have kept the country from
00:02:42
selling most of its crude and forced it
00:02:45
into default
00:02:46
imposing economic sanctions on the
00:02:48
knowledge that this is going to hurt the
00:02:51
population as a whole it is essentially
00:02:54
targeting civilians or at least doing
00:02:56
something that you know you're aware
00:02:58
generates significant collateral damage
00:03:00
among non-combatants according to
00:03:03
government figures the economic embargo
00:03:05
has wiped out some 50 billion dollars a
00:03:07
year of export revenue
00:03:11
if venezuela can produce oil and sell it
00:03:15
it can produce and sell its gold can
00:03:18
produce and sell its bauxite
00:03:20
can't produce iron etc etc
00:03:24
and can't earn a revenue in the
00:03:26
international market how is it supposed
00:03:28
to pay the holders of venezuelan bonds
00:03:32
even maduro whose authoritarian regime
00:03:34
has withstood u.s efforts to oust him is
00:03:37
desperate for a deal
00:03:39
this world has to change this situation
00:03:42
has to change maduro appears on state
00:03:45
television multiple times a week
00:03:47
blasting the u.s government and his
00:03:49
political opponents for venezuela's
00:03:50
troubles but the economy was already in
00:03:53
shambles by the time he took office in
00:03:55
2013.
00:03:57
chavez wanted to build a socialist
00:03:59
utopia
00:04:08
when travis came into power there were
00:04:10
four steps you had to take to export a
00:04:12
container of chocolate that's jorge
00:04:14
redmond ceo of chocolates el rey he
00:04:18
makes some of venezuela's finest
00:04:19
chocolate and sells it all over the
00:04:21
world today there's 90 steps
00:04:24
and with and there are 19 ministries
00:04:26
involved in this process of permissions
00:04:29
and
00:04:30
documents and whatever
00:04:32
so if we if we could go back to
00:04:35
four
00:04:36
or five
00:04:38
steps that would be a big big big help
00:04:41
for for our business
00:04:43
and that's just an example of everything
00:04:44
else that goes on the u.s sanctions go
00:04:47
back to the presidency of george w bush
00:04:50
and continued under barack obama they
00:04:52
intensified during the trump
00:04:54
administration especially after
00:04:56
venezuela's 2018 election
00:04:58
maduro won but international observers
00:05:01
said his victory was a sham
00:05:05
the main reason why maduro is still
00:05:06
there is not a lack of unity
00:05:08
we've had almost perfect unity in the
00:05:10
last 12 years in venezuela through
00:05:12
primaries consensus demonstrations and
00:05:15
institutional legitimacy in the case of
00:05:17
the president of the parliament
00:05:18
the main reason is because modulo is a
00:05:20
dictator
00:05:24
the leader of venezuela's legislature is
00:05:26
whom the u.s recognizes as president not
00:05:29
maduro
00:05:33
today there is more pressure on maduro
00:05:34
in his regime
00:05:36
what they pretended was social control
00:05:37
degenerate into a total lack of control
00:05:40
because today they can't even ensure a
00:05:42
supply of gasoline
00:05:43
the country with the world's largest
00:05:45
proven oil reserves does not have
00:05:47
gasoline so farmers can transport their
00:05:49
food from the countryside to the city
00:05:56
across the country drivers line up for
00:05:58
hours sometimes days to fill up with gas
00:06:01
venezuela's once mighty oil industry has
00:06:04
been crippled production that peaked at
00:06:06
almost three and a half million barrels
00:06:08
a day shrank to just three hundred and
00:06:10
ten thousand
00:06:11
not enough to meet domestic demand
00:06:16
two days more or less approximately to
00:06:19
line up for tomorrow
00:06:21
if we're lucky tomorrow they'll fill up
00:06:23
with gasoline
00:06:30
from today until tomorrow i have to
00:06:32
spend the whole night here until
00:06:33
tomorrow
00:06:36
it's a disaster
00:06:37
a total disaster
00:06:39
losing a day
00:06:41
a whole day of work
00:06:43
an entire day
00:06:47
in june of 2021 oil minister tarek
00:06:50
al-aisami predicted the lineups would be
00:06:52
gone in weeks but they're still here
00:06:56
across the country infrastructure is
00:06:58
crumbling poverty is everywhere slums
00:07:01
blanket the hillsides as far as the eye
00:07:04
can see
00:07:05
and without access to vaccines
00:07:07
covet 19 is ravaging the population
00:07:13
my god we have to get out of this lord
00:07:16
please
00:07:17
enough waiting already
00:07:19
mr president
00:07:20
please
00:07:21
make it so these people are vaccinated
00:07:24
help
00:07:29
there have never them so many poor
00:07:30
people in venezuela public services were
00:07:33
never this bad the income of the
00:07:35
venezuelan family has never been as low
00:07:38
as today
00:07:39
none of the people you see here have
00:07:41
been vaccinated even though there is a
00:07:43
pandemic
00:07:44
enrique capriles is a former state
00:07:46
governor and presidential candidate
00:07:50
i think that the socio-economic
00:07:51
situation of venezuela is like a very
00:07:53
thin threat that could break it has not
00:07:56
broken but he could break
00:07:59
maduro knows things can't go on like
00:08:02
this already he started to unwind many
00:08:04
of chavez's policies
00:08:07
if the restrictions the sanctions the
00:08:09
persecution of the bank accounts of the
00:08:12
finances of the economy of the oil
00:08:15
production that were forced on venezuela
00:08:19
if they were forced on another country
00:08:21
of the world what would happen what
00:08:23
would they do that's what we should ask
00:08:26
ourselves look at the globe point to
00:08:28
another country and see what would
00:08:30
happen
00:08:31
how that would affect their reality
00:08:34
well venezuela has had to declare a war
00:08:37
economy we are acting on a war economy
00:08:41
price controls are mostly gone
00:08:43
gasoline subsidies have been reduced
00:08:46
public spending was slashed maduro had
00:08:48
little choice the economy was in a free
00:08:51
fall inflation became a national
00:08:54
obsession
00:08:56
[Music]
00:08:57
in venezuela there have already been two
00:08:59
devaluations and the third is coming
00:09:02
one in 2008 and another devaluation in
00:09:05
2018.
00:09:07
in 2008 they removed three zeros from
00:09:10
the currency and in 2018 they removed
00:09:13
five zeros
00:09:14
and they are planning to remove six
00:09:16
zeros from the currency
00:09:18
it means that inflation in venezuela
00:09:20
exceeds ten zeros this is hyperinflation
00:09:23
the currency is useless
00:09:28
this is the worst
00:09:29
i mean it's
00:09:31
i don't mean to mean to be so negative
00:09:33
but in minnesota we've never seen
00:09:35
something like this
00:09:37
we have heard and and read about uh
00:09:39
inflation's in argentina and in chile in
00:09:42
brazil
00:09:43
and we've always thought well that's
00:09:45
that's their problem
00:09:47
but now we find that it's very much our
00:09:49
problem
00:09:51
venezuela's official currency the
00:09:53
bolivar is almost worthless even the
00:09:56
most basic goods cost millions
00:09:58
nowadays prices for just about
00:10:00
everything are in dollars the government
00:10:02
is letting them circulate freely
00:10:07
starting in november we started using
00:10:09
only dollars and to write down people's
00:10:11
names we use dollars
00:10:13
because the bolivar is useless
00:10:15
i was selling something to people for 20
00:10:17
million bolivars and soon after i
00:10:19
couldn't buy anything with those 20
00:10:21
million
00:10:23
dollarization has improved life for many
00:10:26
store shelves that sat empty only a few
00:10:28
years ago are full again zell the app
00:10:31
that draws on dollars in u.s bank
00:10:33
accounts is hugely popular
00:10:38
lowering inflation rates is not
00:10:39
capitalist
00:10:41
it's preserving and defending the
00:10:42
purchasing power of workers
00:10:45
generating more food production is not
00:10:47
capitalist
00:10:48
it's guaranteeing the food security of
00:10:50
the venezuelan people
00:10:55
delci rodriguez maduro's vice president
00:10:58
is the architect of all these reforms
00:11:03
today the venezuelan private sector is
00:11:05
becoming less dependent on oil income
00:11:08
it's becoming a sector that invests
00:11:10
produces
00:11:11
and it's finding space in venezuela to
00:11:13
develop its potential
00:11:15
[Music]
00:11:18
potential
00:11:19
jorge redmond is still waiting for a
00:11:21
rebound i i'd like to believe in it
00:11:24
and i think
00:11:26
in in the end i think the government has
00:11:28
come to the conclusion that they need to
00:11:30
do that because nothing works
00:11:34
our economy had already collapsed
00:11:37
so maduro was forced to acknowledge
00:11:38
under the circumstances the
00:11:39
dollarization
00:11:54
maduro it's a tricky balancing act one
00:11:57
minute he's almost begging for
00:11:59
negotiations to end the us sanctions
00:12:01
the next he's denouncing yankee
00:12:03
imperialism
00:12:06
i would say to president joe biden stop
00:12:10
from the white house from the state
00:12:11
department
00:12:13
stop the demonization of venezuela the
00:12:15
demonization of the bolivarian
00:12:17
revolution the demonization of president
00:12:20
nicolas maduro hopefully we can find
00:12:23
paths of closeness of respect
00:12:26
paths of mutual benefits and paths that
00:12:28
allow us to normalize relations between
00:12:31
the united states and venezuela interest
00:12:34
in venezuela
00:12:37
just how far is maduro willing to go
00:12:39
or is he stalling for time
00:12:42
that's next on inside venezuela
00:12:46
[Music]
00:12:57
venezuelan president nicolas maduro says
00:13:00
he wants a deal to ease the u.s
00:13:02
sanctions that crippled his country's
00:13:03
economy
00:13:04
to establish a real objective credible
00:13:08
verifiable foundation and a negotiation
00:13:10
process to normalize relations between
00:13:13
the two countries in win-win terms which
00:13:16
has been our goal for a long time
00:13:18
for the first time in years there's some
00:13:21
reason for optimism the u.s remains
00:13:24
deeply concerned about the ongoing
00:13:26
crisis in venezuela and the biden
00:13:28
administration has set conditions for
00:13:30
meaningful progress starting with
00:13:33
electoral conditions that abide by
00:13:35
international standards for democracy
00:13:37
the optimist
00:13:39
in me
00:13:40
you know makes me say that
00:13:44
the sort of magnetic pull between the
00:13:47
united states and venezuela
00:13:49
will overcome everything else what
00:13:51
hasn't changed is the assessment of
00:13:53
maduro himself here's how president
00:13:56
trump summed it up during his last state
00:13:58
of the union the united states is
00:14:00
leading
00:14:01
a 59 nation diplomatic coalition against
00:14:05
the socialist dictator of venezuela
00:14:08
nicholas maduro
00:14:16
is an illegitimate ruler a tyrant who
00:14:18
brutalizes his people but maduro's grip
00:14:21
on tyranny will be smashed and broken
00:14:26
here this evening
00:14:27
he's a very brave man who carries with
00:14:30
him the hopes dreams and aspirations of
00:14:33
all venezuelans
00:14:35
joining us in the gallery is the true
00:14:38
and legitimate president of venezuela
00:14:40
juan guido
00:14:42
mr president please take this message
00:14:45
back to you
00:14:48
maduro not only outlasted trump he
00:14:51
insists the former president was ready
00:14:53
to negotiate
00:14:55
we always had contact with donald trump
00:14:58
i was about to meet with donald trump
00:15:00
personally in september of 2018
00:15:03
when i went to the united nations
00:15:05
general assembly in new york
00:15:07
we received the call from the white
00:15:09
house
00:15:10
but we know about the pressures john
00:15:12
bolton and other officials around donald
00:15:14
trump were applying to prevent what he
00:15:17
wanted which was a meeting with me
00:15:19
had we met his story might be different
00:15:22
you were going to go
00:15:25
we were going to meet in new york we
00:15:27
made all the arrangements by phone to
00:15:30
meet in new york but in the end the
00:15:32
pressure was too much for him for donald
00:15:34
trump and contact was canceled
00:15:38
lately maduro has been giving ground he
00:15:41
moved six political detainees from
00:15:43
prison to house arrest gave the
00:15:45
opposition seats on an elections council
00:15:48
and allowed the world food program into
00:15:50
venezuela
00:15:55
there is a new administration in
00:15:57
washington
00:15:58
that administration believes that
00:16:00
positions need to be aligned with europe
00:16:03
believes that the international
00:16:04
community needs to be aligned in the
00:16:06
search for the recovery of democracy in
00:16:08
venezuela
00:16:09
they are ready to accompany and support
00:16:12
the negotiation process
00:16:14
there are also people in maduro's side
00:16:16
who have noticed that the existential
00:16:18
conflict is not good in the position
00:16:21
they are in because there is no way to
00:16:23
recover the country economically
00:16:26
i imagine the government is under heavy
00:16:28
internal pressure
00:16:30
a new round of talks between the
00:16:32
government and the opposition is
00:16:34
underway mediated by norway
00:16:36
the reality is that
00:16:38
negotiations in venezuela
00:16:41
have consistently and systematically
00:16:43
failed so this is not the first attempt
00:16:44
at negotiations nor the second nor the
00:16:46
third
00:16:47
but dialogue is a constructive step
00:16:50
after the uprisings and insurgencies
00:16:52
that failed to topple maduro in 2017
00:16:55
and 2019.
00:16:57
inside the opposition divisions are
00:17:00
sharp one side favors a step-by-step
00:17:02
approach the gradual easing of sanctions
00:17:05
in exchange for concessions
00:17:07
the other side led by guido wants to
00:17:10
keep the sanctions in force and only
00:17:12
recently agreed to negotiate
00:17:14
what everyone can agree on is that
00:17:16
conflict and confusion only help maduro
00:17:22
these authoritarian regimes want to win
00:17:24
by wearing out by getting the world
00:17:26
tired of fighting by getting venezuelans
00:17:28
tired of demanding
00:17:29
that is what happened in cuba at the
00:17:30
time i'm going to be very clear we're
00:17:33
not going to get tired of fighting or
00:17:34
demanding our rights because that is
00:17:36
something very important
00:17:41
it is true that the government has
00:17:43
cheated
00:17:44
deviated
00:17:46
but it is also true that we have made
00:17:49
very costly mistakes
00:17:51
every time we have advanced we have
00:17:54
arrived at a dead end
00:17:56
and in the end the result hasn't
00:17:57
weakened
00:18:09
maduro faces a big test in november of
00:18:12
2021.
00:18:13
regional elections the next few months
00:18:16
are critical to get international
00:18:18
observers lined up for the november
00:18:20
elections
00:18:22
will he let venezuelans vote freely and
00:18:24
fairly
00:18:26
that and more coming up in this
00:18:27
bloomberg special report inside
00:18:30
venezuela
00:18:31
[Music]
00:18:47
venezuela's disputed election in 2018
00:18:50
made president nicolas maduro a pariah
00:18:52
in the west and provoked a crushing
00:18:54
series of u.s sanctions
00:18:57
now he has a chance to reverse the
00:18:58
damage
00:19:00
if the regional elections in november
00:19:02
2021 are considered free and fair enough
00:19:05
the biden administration might relieve
00:19:07
some of the pressure on the venezuelan
00:19:09
economy and its people i would create a
00:19:12
humanitarian oil for food program so
00:19:14
that venezuela can regain access to the
00:19:16
oil revenues that it's lost because of
00:19:18
sanctions and it can use them in
00:19:20
addressing its economic and humanitarian
00:19:21
crisis it appears maduro is willing to
00:19:24
make concessions though he clearly won't
00:19:26
surrender all of his negotiating
00:19:28
leverage
00:19:30
you can't put a gun to the head of the
00:19:32
people of venezuela with the united
00:19:34
states telling us what we need to do
00:19:36
we would turn into a colony we would
00:19:39
turn into a protectorate
00:19:42
the path forward is strewn with
00:19:44
obstacles like the political opposition
00:19:46
it's fragmented and there's no one
00:19:49
leader to rally around
00:19:50
president that is as unpopular as maduro
00:19:53
that has so mismanaged the economy and
00:19:56
that is accused of the type of
00:19:58
atrocities that
00:20:00
maduro is accused of
00:20:03
cannot win an election
00:20:05
what can happen is that the opposition
00:20:07
can lose it the opposition is in such
00:20:10
disarray right now then there's the
00:20:12
government from the outside it looks
00:20:14
like maduro has absolute authority
00:20:17
inside it's a different story
00:20:19
i'm not sure that you could say that
00:20:21
maduro is a traditional dictator in
00:20:22
other words he doesn't really have full
00:20:25
control it's not a one-man
00:20:28
you know it's not
00:20:31
it's not the position he's in he really
00:20:33
has to balance off a lot of competing
00:20:35
factions within his own party
00:20:39
the longer it takes to reach a solution
00:20:41
the longer maduro has to fortify his
00:20:43
position
00:20:44
without access to oil markets he turned
00:20:46
to china russia iran and cuba for help
00:20:51
and in caracas there's evidence the
00:20:53
economy is growing again
00:20:55
for now venezuela can't issue repay or
00:20:58
restructure its debt and sanctions bar
00:21:00
u.s investors from trading the bonds
00:21:03
they're worth just pennies on the dollar
00:21:08
right now venezuela wants to pay but it
00:21:10
can't because of the blockade
00:21:12
i'm not going to tell you our strategy
00:21:15
but i will note our willingness and our
00:21:16
commitment
00:21:18
venezuela has always been a good
00:21:19
borrower
00:21:25
hans humes owns venezuelan bonds and
00:21:28
makes frequent trips to caracas
00:21:30
if the trading ban gets dropped and the
00:21:32
government is allowed to negotiate with
00:21:34
its lenders he says it could be a
00:21:36
bonanza something in this sort of 50 60
00:21:38
range
00:21:40
on a you know net present value basis i
00:21:43
don't think it's out of the question
00:21:44
latin america has a long history of
00:21:46
authoritarian regimes venezuela's surely
00:21:49
won't be the last yet maduro is clearly
00:21:52
longing for a future that looks more
00:21:54
like the past he once knew i've driven
00:21:57
with my wife i've driven in new york
00:22:00
i myself have driven new york boston
00:22:04
baltimore philadelphia the whole east
00:22:07
i've driven in miami i've had a little
00:22:09
drink and i have danced salsa on kaya
00:22:11
ocho of miami i know the united states
00:22:14
atlanta i've gone to the place where the
00:22:17
remains of martin luther king are and
00:22:19
all those neighborhoods i've gone
00:22:21
through them while trump was president
00:22:23
many thought military intervention was
00:22:25
the best way to change the regime in
00:22:27
venezuela that's no longer on the table
00:22:32
i will not support a coup d'etat
00:22:35
a coup d'etat is what led venezuela to
00:22:37
this catastrophe
00:22:38
in 1992 chavez tried to seize power by
00:22:41
force
00:22:42
speaking of resentment and hate to a
00:22:44
certain sector of society
00:22:46
and we're seeing the consequences now
00:22:48
all that was accomplished was disaster
00:22:51
catastrophe
00:22:53
francisco rodriguez was chief economist
00:22:56
to venezuela's congress during the
00:22:57
chavez years he doesn't think there's
00:23:00
any chance maduro will step down before
00:23:02
the 2024 presidential election
00:23:05
not unless the u.s gives him the one
00:23:08
thing he craves
00:23:09
recognition as president legitimacy in
00:23:12
exchange for an orderly exit maduro
00:23:15
would be essentially committing to not
00:23:17
running again to stepping down in 2024
00:23:20
at the end of
00:23:21
his term uh and you could do something
00:23:24
that
00:23:25
changes the venezuelan situation that
00:23:27
opens up the space for a transition for
00:23:29
a new figure to emerge which might come
00:23:31
from franchise mode might come from the
00:23:33
opposition uh but which will essentially
00:23:35
allow the country to take a step forward
00:23:38
will he or won't he run in 2024
00:23:41
it could be the most consequential
00:23:43
question for venezuela's future
00:23:46
maduro won't say
00:23:48
my destiny my future honestly honestly
00:23:51
it's not the most important thing the
00:23:53
most important thing is the country and
00:23:55
that's where our efforts are focused
00:24:00
[Music]
00:24:05
you
