Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, speaks to his followers in Caracas. Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected yesterday with almost 70% of the votes. According to official numbers turnout was 46.1%, way down from the 80% registered at the last presidential vote in 2013, due to a boycott by the opposition.
Why it matters: The U.S. and most Latin American countries said that they won't recognize the results, denouncing a fraud and because main opposition leaders weren't allowed to run. Venezuela, despite huge oil reserves, is facing a deep economic crisis, and massive emigration wave.
By the numbers, as recapped by Axios' Shane Savitsky, citing mind-boggling stats published last year for Project Syndicate:
- "Venezuela's GDP contracted by 40% in per capita terms from 2013 to 2017 — and that's based off estimates as Maduro stopped reporting economic data in 2015. A recent filing with the SEC by the Venezuelan government indicated that its economy had contracted by 16.5% in 2016 alone."
- "To make things worse, the decline in Venezuela's oil production and decreased global demand of Venezuela's chief export — which greatly subsidizes its socialist regime — resulted in a 51% drop in national income from 2013 to 2017."
- "The minimum wage declined by 88% from 2012 to 2017 when compared against the black market exchange rate."
- "Venezuelans making that minimum wage cannot afford to feed a family of five, even when their entire income is devoted to purchasing the cheapest available calories."
- "Income poverty jumped to 82% in 2016 — a shocking increase from 48% in 2014."