The Demise of the Venezuelan Bolívar Continues [Chart]
The Chart of the Week is a weekly feature in Visual Capitalist on Fridays. When the price of oil got crushed in mid-2014, there was no doubt that economies heavily reliant on oil exports would feel a pinch. Russia and Venezuela are no exception, and their currencies have been some of the most interesting stories emerging from this new oil price reality. Russia’s ruble had declined almost 40% against the US dollar over the next six months, only to rebound at the beginning of 2015 along with the price of Brent. Venezuela, which needs to sell oil at $89 to breakeven on their budget, has also seen their currency flop. However, the circumstances are very different. While the Russian ruble was able to rebound somewhat, the Venezuelan bolívar has continued to depreciate to close to 80% against the USD since the oil price went down the tubes. This is only part of an even bigger decline since Nicolas Maduro took office two years ago, and the oil price isn’t the only thing to blame. The country’s draconian capital flight controls, waning foreign currency reserves, and money printing are also factors. Of course, news of the struggling bolívar isn’t based on the official information from the Venezuelan government – it comes from the black market rates that citizens pay in a nearby Colombian border town for dollars. The government is currently working to shut down the widely followed website that publishes these rates, known as DolarToday. In the past two weeks, the decimation of the Venezuelan bolívar has gained even more momentum. It now costs around 400 bolívars to buy $1, when it took about 300 on May 14th. The largest currency note in the country is a 100-bolívar bill, and it is now worth around a mere quarter in US terms. When hyperinflation gains any traction, it can be extremely hard to stop.
International companies are beginning to no longer accepting bolívars. Ford announced that it will only accept USD in Venezuela, and American Airlines only allows customers to buy online with dollars. DolarToday estimates inflation for bolívars at 68.5%, but other calculations have implied inflation as high as 510%.
on Even while political regimes across these countries have changed over time, they’ve largely followed a few different types of governance. Today, every country can ultimately be classified into just nine broad forms of government systems. This map by Truman Du uses information from Wikipedia to map the government systems that rule the world today.
Countries By Type of Government
It’s important to note that this map charts government systems according to each country’s legal framework. Many countries have constitutions stating their de jure or legally recognized system of government, but their de facto or realized form of governance may be quite different. Here is a list of the stated government system of UN member states and observers as of January 2023: Let’s take a closer look at some of these systems.
Monarchies
Brought back into the spotlight after the death of Queen Elizabeth II of England in September 2022, this form of government has a single ruler. They carry titles from king and queen to sultan or emperor, and their government systems can be further divided into three modern types: constitutional, semi-constitutional, and absolute. A constitutional monarchy sees the monarch act as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, giving them little to no real power. For example, King Charles III is the head of 15 Commonwealth nations including Canada and Australia. However, each has their own head of government. On the other hand, a semi-constitutional monarchy lets the monarch or ruling royal family retain substantial political powers, as is the case in Jordan and Morocco. However, their monarchs still rule the country according to a democratic constitution and in concert with other institutions. Finally, an absolute monarchy is most like the monarchies of old, where the ruler has full power over governance, with modern examples including Saudi Arabia and Vatican City.
Republics
Unlike monarchies, the people hold the power in a republic government system, directly electing representatives to form government. Again, there are multiple types of modern republic governments: presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary. The presidential republic could be considered a direct progression from monarchies. This system has a strong and independent chief executive with extensive powers when it comes to domestic affairs and foreign policy. An example of this is the United States, where the President is both the head of state and the head of government. In a semi-presidential republic, the president is the head of state and has some executive powers that are independent of the legislature. However, the prime minister (or chancellor or equivalent title) is the head of government, responsible to the legislature along with the cabinet. Russia is a classic example of this type of government. The last type of republic system is parliamentary. In this system, the president is a figurehead, while the head of government holds real power and is validated by and accountable to the parliament. This type of system can be seen in Germany, Italy, and India and is akin to constitutional monarchies. It’s also important to point out that some parliamentary republic systems operate slightly differently. For example in South Africa, the president is both the head of state and government, but is elected directly by the legislature. This leaves them (and their ministries) potentially subject to parliamentary confidence.
One-Party State
Many of the systems above involve multiple political parties vying to rule and govern their respective countries. In a one-party state, also called a single-party state or single-party system, only one political party has the right to form government. All other political parties are either outlawed or only allowed limited participation in elections. In this system, a country’s head of state and head of government can be executive or ceremonial but political power is constitutionally linked to a single political movement. China is the most well-known example of this government system, with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China ruling as the de facto leader since 1989.
Provisional
The final form of government is a provisional government formed as an interim or transitional government. In this system, an emergency governmental body is created to manage political transitions after the collapse of a government, or when a new state is formed. Often these evolve into fully constitutionalized systems, but sometimes they hold power for longer than expected. Some examples of countries that are considered provisional include Libya, Burkina Faso, and Chad.
