MADURO
September 11, 2014
As Venezuela economy worsens, fears of default rise
VENEZUELAN President Nicolas Maduro is reassuring foreign creditors that his government will make good on a US$4.5-billion foreign debt payment coming due next month.
But as the inflation-ravaged economy stumbles, economists are uttering the D-word for the first time.
Maduro has repeatedly said default is not an option. On Wednesday, he reiterated that the government would pay “down to the last dollar”.
But fears have heightened in recent days after an article by a former Venezuelan planning minister and a Harvard economist argued that managed default could help right the country’s economy and ultimately benefit its citizens.
