Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Photo: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images
Venezuela is facing a bleak future after the sham re-election of President Nicolás Maduro last weekend; the Wall Street Journal's Anatoly Kurmanaev writes that what's left "is exile or further misery."
The big picture: The overwhelming economic crisis in Venezuela has spurred a global migrant crisis — around 5,000 Venezuelans are fleeing each day — and Kurmanaev says Maduro's election "snuffed out the last glimmer of hope that their lives can improve."
The state of play: Hyperinflation is on track to reach 14,000% this year while the economy will have diminished by 35% in five years, at the end of 2018, per WSJ.
- The poverty rate "rose from 48% to 87%" from 2014-2017 as 10% of Venezuelans — around 3 million — have fled the crime-stricken country.
- However, many of the ruling elite are "barred...from trips to the U.S. and much of Europe."
Weak cash flow: Per Kurmanaev: "Cash is extremely scarce, card payment networks are overloaded, cell phone coverage is worse than in Syria, and online banking systems constantly crash because of underinvestment. Paying for a cup of coffee can take an hour."