CONFUSION TO THE ENEMY:

Oil-Fueled Nation Feels Pinch: As the Price of Crude Plunges, Venezuela Is Poised to Face a Lot of Pain (Juan Forero, 10/19/08, Washington Post)

The price of a barrel of oil has fallen from $147 in July to less than $70, and analysts say the drop is a blow to Chávez's free-spending administration, which depends on oil for 50 percent of government revenue and 95 percent of its export earnings. Other oil-producing countries, which like Venezuela ramped up spending as the price of oil rose to historic highs in recent years, also face serious economic problems, analysts say.

Robert Bottome, editor of Veneconomia, a Caracas business newsletter, said that if the price continues to fall, Chávez's populist government will face economic turmoil.

"The common perception is that the Venezuelan government goes bankrupt," he said, "that they cannot meet their obligations."