A importância do petróleo na política externa da Venezuela no governo Hugo Chávez

Abstract

This paper aims to demonstrate the importance of oil in the Venezuelan economy and its repercussions in the conduct of the country's foreign policy, specifically in the government of President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias, from 1999 to 2013. For this purpose, data regarding the Venezuelan economy in the fourteen years of Chavez's government and in the period prior to this, as well as data regarding Venezuelan oil exports, international prices of this commodity and data referring to other major oil exporters were analysed. Subsequently, the country's foreign policy guidelines were analyzed during the aforementioned period, seeking to identify and understand possible relations between oil revenues and the conduct of Venezuelan foreign policy. It was observed that the commercial diversification produced by Chavez did not result in a decrease in Venezuelan dependence on oil exports, but it was very important for several Latin American countries from an economic point of view.