In Schiff Sovereign's (virtual) office, Venezuela has long been synonymous with a failed state.
It's amusing to think that Venezuela was the wealthiest country in Latin America just 15 years ago, thanks to its vast oil reserves.
The decline began when hardcore leftist populist Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, and it accelerated when his protégé, Nicolas Maduro, took over in 2013. Since then, Venezuela has faced unprecedented economic and social turmoil.
It's a “blood in the streets” moment.
However, capitalizing on this opportunity has been dangerously difficult.
For years, streets were overrun by violent gangs and corrupt police forces. Even if you managed to stay safe, you couldn't buy the simplest products as supermarket shelves were bare due to strict government-imposed price and currency controls.
Then, something unexpected happened in 2020. During the peak misery for Venezuelans, the government realized that their economic model simply wasn’t working and needed to try something different.
They allowed the free circulation of the US dollar—most prices and transactions are now conducted in USD — canceled most capital and price controls and reduced their overall interference in the economy.
Unsurprisingly, a rapid economic rebound followed. Business activity surged, and crime rates dropped significantly.
It was time to gauge the situation on the ground and look for opportunities. That’s precisely what our team member Marat recently did. He went to Venezuela and toured the country’s incredibly cheap real estate.
He looked at several properties in Caracas, the capital city, and on Margarita Island, Venezuela’s idyllic vacation spot, priced at $45,000, $37,000, and even $18,000.
In the long run, such low prices are simply unsustainable.
Read about his findings and whether he thinks buying an ultra-cheap Venezuelan property is worth the hassle today.
In Schiff Sovereign’s (virtual) office, Venezuela has long been synonymous with a failed state. In our minds, it has always been associated with misery, government incompetence, and the failure of far-left policies. It’s almost amusing to think that Venezuela was the wealthiest country in Latin America just 15 years ago. Home to the world’s largest…
