Venezuela
THOMAS COEX—AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez (center), and Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramirez (left) visit Venezuelan Petroleum company employees in Cumana.
President Hugo Chávez has inextricably tied the Venezuelan economy to oil, and that didn't look so bad before the financial crisis. But with oil prices stagnating, the returns on Chávez's strategy have changed. Many economists are predicting negative growth for Venezuela this year—such as the 4 percent drop predicted by Morgan Stanley.
