Our world today is so interconnected that the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the U.S. has led to a global financial crisis on a scale not seen since the Great Depression. Here’s a round-up of how the countries around the world are dealing with the economic meltdown.

Europe

The 15-country eurozone is officially in recession for the first time since its formation in 1999. From French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s newly announced economic summit to Iceland’s collective sigh of relief over a bailout (the International Monetary Fund’s first loan to Western Europe since Britain got a helping hand in 1976), Europe is struggling with its own brand of turmoil as the financial crisis tears through the continent.

But in the German cities of Eisenach and Bochum, residents are feeling a special empathy for the U.S. Both are home to Opel car plants, shut down as parent company General Motors pleads with Capitol Hill for a loan.

Opel has approached the German government in an attempt to secure liquidity should GM go bankrupt. German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to consider a loan, but immediately faced resistance even within her own party from lawmakers concerned that funds might find their way back to Detroit to prop up the ailing American parent company. All this comes at an inopportune time for Opel. Their Insignia model just won the title of European Car of the Year for 2009 — the first time in 22 years that a GM car has taken top honors. Perhaps the Insignia is a bit more stylish than 1987’s Opel Omega…

As the head of Europe’s second largest economy, French President Sarkozy announced a $25 billion investment fund yesterday. The bailout is part of a plan launched last month aimed at protecting French companies from foreign take-overs. Despite payback clauses and caps placed on executive pay, the bailout has angered France’s powerful unions who are staging massive strikes this week in air and rail travel, and postal and telecom services.

Sarkozy, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the E.U., has been so vocal about the excesses of laissez-faire capitalism and the necessity for better market regulation, that The Economist semi-jokingly questions whether the global financial crisis has turned him into a “closet socialist.” Sarkozy was instrumental in arranging the recent G-20 summit, but returned from Washington disappointed by its outcome. On Tuesday, he announced that he and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will co-host another meeting of world leaders and financial experts in January 2009 in Paris to continue looking for ways out of the crisis.

In 2001, two-fifths of Turkey’s banks failed after an irresponsible lending spree. Taking over the banks and restructuring them cost the state a crippling 30 percent of GDP and plunged the economy into a deep recession, triggering one of the I.M.F.’s biggest-ever loans. At the G-20 summit in Washington last weekend, Turkish Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan announced his country may be close to reaching an agreement to receive yet another emergency loan from the I.M.F. But Prime Minister Erdogan has warned the Turkish business community not to expect a government bailout this time: “Nobody should expect everything from the government. It’s not like the government is going to inject cash into the emptied safes of companies. Let me put it clearly, such a thing is out of the question.”

Asia

After months of avoiding the global financial crisis and years of excess money in the banks, Japan has also slipped into a recession. The world’s second largest economy has seen a recent appreciation of the yen and consequently, a decline in the demand for exports, especially among its most loyal customers. In the United States, the world’s largest auto market, the price of Japanese vehicles is rising and sales are dropping. Japanese car manufacturers Honda, Nissan and Toyota are reporting steep declines in sales and profits. Sony is also predicting a 59 percent plunge in profits due to deteriorating sales of gadgets and flat-screen TVs.

Prime Minister Taro Aso announced a $51 billion stimulus package last month, which included 2 trillion yen ($20.3 billion) in special benefits to all households. Aso hoped to encourage domestic consumption by distributing $600 to each family of four. Some economists predict that the worst is yet to come in Japan, but the bleak outlook hasn’t stopped Japanese consumers from snatching up an entire stock of diamond-encrusted mobile phones. Studded with 537 diamonds – a total of 18.34 carats – and a price tag of 13 million yen ($134,000 dollars), the line of 10 phones sold out within three days.

South Koreans have begun to fear a repeat of their 1997-1998 economic collapse, when the I.M.F. had to step in with a $58 million bailout. The government of South Korea responded to the current downturn by setting up a $30 billion currency swap with the Federal Reserve of the United States, which was designed to alleviate the pressure on the country’s banks. On November 14^th, China and Japan also agreed on a currency swap with South Korea, contributing $4 billion and $15 billion respectively.

Despite a slowdown in garment exports and tourists, Cambodian Prime Minister Sun Hen sees the silver lining. At a summit with Thailand and Vietnam earlier this month, Sen said, “’The rich people in Europe, the buyers in America, will not buy expensive clothes produced in Europe anymore but the cheaper goods produced in Cambodia and Vietnam.”

In the first weeks of the global financial crisis, China — the world’s fastest growing economy and largest holder of foreign-exchange reserves — was hopeful the slowdown would pass it by. But figures released in mid-October showed growth dipping to its lowest in five years, down from 11.9 percent last year to 9 percent this quarter, confirming that no nation is immune. With foreign exports and investments shrinking, Chinese unemployment is on the rise, and could reach up to 2.7 million laid-off workers by January 2009. Time Magazine calls it “China’s worst nightmare,” due to the labor unrest that might result. This week, Chinese authorities issued an order to companies in the big manufacturing regions of Shandong and Hubei provinces: they must now seek government consent in order to fire more than 40 people at a time. To shore up domestic growth and market confidence, on November 9 President Hu Jintao announced a 2-year $586 billion stimulus package — four times as large as America’s current bailout plan — focused on tax reform, increased spending on education, health, and housing, and major infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, airports, and the power grid.

China suffered from two major recessions in the past 30 years, in the aftermath of the Tiananmen uprising in 1989 and during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, when it last adopted a big stimulus plan. The Economist argues that this time China might “genuinely avoid a hard landing: the underlying economy, while far from perfect, is in better shape, and the government has more room to boost its spending… [M]ost economists think the stimulus package will be enough to keep growth at 7.5-8 percent for the year as a whole. If so, of the world’s eight biggest economies, China will be the only one to enjoy any growth next year.” Chinese consumers may help keep the rest of us afloat.

As the West increasingly relies on China to help it weather the storm, geo-political compromises may be in the offing. The U.K. is rumored to have secured a Chinese donation to the I.M.F. by agreeing to reverse its century-old position on Tibet: since late October, Briatin no longer recognizes Tibet as an autonomous entity but rather as a part of the People’s Republic of China.

The Middle East and Central Asia

Iranian hardliners have hailed the economic crisis as divine punishment for the perceived greed and corruption of the West and its allies. “The oppressors and the corrupt will be replaced by the pious and believers,” according to Iran’s firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who sees the downturn as signaling “the end of capitalism.”

He’s not the only one to see this crisis as a turning point in the culture war between East and West. Dubai’s once-booming economy has been hit hard, but some see the downturn as a chance to save the local culture. Traditional Bedouin culture has been all but lost in Dubai’s rush to become an international center of business, media and tourism. “The city needs to slow down and relax,” says Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, a political science professor at United Arab Emirates University. “It’s good for the identity of our country.”

The U.S. is expected to spend close to $200 billion on the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year alone. With the economic crisis wreaking havoc in the homeland, something has to give. Peter Beinart, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations says that “the economic environment is making a speedy drawdown of U.S. troops [in Iraq] more likely.” That might sound like good news to some. But experts warn that the financial crisis might fuel instability in fragile nations from the Middle East to Pakistan. On November 15th, a struggling Pakistan reluctantly accepted a $7.6 billion loan from the I.M.F. But still, there is fear that economic troubles will hinder Pakistan’s ability to fight the Taliban insurgency in the country’s tribal regions.

Africa

Last month, former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan said that we cannot use the global financial crisis as “an excuse for inaction” in combating poverty and food shortages in Africa. In times of financial crisis governments often renege on promises of financial aid. In fact, the U.N. Food Agency reported that only a tenth of 22 billion euros in food and agriculture assistance pledged to the U.N. for 2008 has actually been paid.

But there are some who feel the time is ripe for Africa to excel as an economic force. Kuseni Dlamini, the South African head of the multinational mining firm Anglo American, said that now is the “great era of opportunity for Africa to rise and shine in the global scheme of things and be met as an economic giant.” Kuseni cited Botswana as a “shining example” of a country that has managed its natural resources (diamonds) in a responsible way, which has delivered long term benefits in education, infrastructure and healthcare to the country. John Simon, U.S. ambassador to the African Union has called Africa “the new frontier” in the global economy.

According to Antoinette Sayeh, director of the I.M.F.’s African Department, growth in sub-Saharan Africa, the continent’s poorest region, will remain strong. Sub-Saharan Africa experienced one of its highest growth rates in decades in 2007, growing at a rate of 6.5 percent. In the midst of the global financial crisis, the I.M.F. projects that growth in sub-Saharan Africa will fall by only half a percent in 2008 and 2009. However, Sayeh warns that sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth could weaken with a lower inflow of capital, i.e. through foreign aid, and a reduction in commodity pricing. The I.M.F. has also identified eight sub-Saharan African countries — Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia – as having enough growth and investment to be considered emerging markets.

Latin America

With oil dropping below $50 a barrel, the Venezuelan economy may be at risk. More than 90 percent of export revenue and more than half of the government’s budget derives from oil. With these economic risks come political risks for a government whose extensive social programs are funded with oil revenues. Venezuela holds regional elections on Sunday, November 23, and economic troubles could reduce outspoken President Hugo Chavez’s hold on power. Among other challenges, Chavez allies will have to compete with Chavez’s ex-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez (she has since married her tennis coach).

Like Venezuela, Mexico relies heavily on oil revenues. The country also relies on remittances sent home by Mexican migrants abroad. Both have declined in response to the international financial crisis. In August, the collapse of the U.S. housing market (which employs many Hispanic immigrants in construction jobs) and increased illegal immigration raids contributed to a 12 percent drop in remittances, the largest monthly drop on record. Fortunately, September figures were more optimistic. Mexico receives the third-largest amount of remittances worldwide, and receives by far the largest amount coming from migrants based in the U.S. Interestingly, the decline in remittances has not been seen (pdf) in other Latin American countries that rely on them.

Mexico is also strongly connected to U.S. investment, which could prove problematic in weathering the financial crisis. Colombia, perhaps the strongest U.S. ally in South America, is less entangled with investments, but will be affected now that U.S. banks are reducing loans to developing countries. In addition, a trade agreement that would open some areas of trade between Colombia and the U.S. could be threatened by the the recent U.S. election. One outcome of the 2008 U.S. election was the ascendance of legislators advocating “fair trade” platforms, as opposed to “free trade” platforms. President-elect Obama, for example, has advocated for stronger labor protections in the Colombia agreement, citing violence against Colombian labor leaders. President Bush and out-going Republicans, however, have pushed for the deal to be signed as soon as possible.

The Planet

There may be some surprise winners and losers in the financial crisis, but the outlook for the planet seems to teeter back and forth between the two poles. U.N. climate honcho Yvo de Boer fears renewable energies and conservation will suffer from sinking oil prices, while countries will spend less money on protecting the environment as they fork over cash to rescue banks. Validating his concerns, at a recent E.U. summit, some Eastern European countries talked about backing away from CO2 emissions targets, citing the expense. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi added, “We do not think that now is the time to be playing the role of Don Quixote, when the big producers of CO2, such as the United States or China, are totally against adherence to our targets.”

But what’s bad news for some may actually make climate change activists pleased. With high rates of unemployment and foreclosure, populations are commuting less and shifting away from areas of suburban sprawl. Until the economic downturn, California was not set to meet its ambitious and trend-setting greenhouse gas emissions target. Now it seems as though they’re back on track. Less consumer demand likely translates into lower energy use – fewer road trips, fewer flights and a greater willingness to utilize public transportation. And, as the Christian Science Monitor reports, “One silver lining of the financial crisis is that investment decisions may not be as short-term as they have been.” Renewable energy and green technology projects might attract investors as safer bets for the long term.

WIDE ANGLE has also reported on the economic crisis in Ireland and Argentina.

Juan Evo Morales Ayma, President of Bolivia, spoke in New York on Tuesday as part of the Columbia University World Leaders Forum. Morales, the first indigenous president in Bolivian history, was elected in 2005. In September of this year, he kicked out the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, accusing him of conspiring against the Bolivian government, and America followed suit by expelling the Bolivian ambassador. Diplomatic relations deteriorated further this month when Morales suspended the Bolivian operations of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Morales has accused both the U.S. Ambassador and DEA agents of involvement with his political opponents as justification for their expulsion. In his address at Columbia, Morales recounted recent stories of U.S. intervention in Bolivian affairs. Earlier this year, U.S. Embassy officials asked members of the Peace Corps and a Fulbright scholar to keep tabs on Cubans and Venezuelans in Bolivia. In 2002, then-U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha warned that a Morales win in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election could threaten U.S. aid to the country. Considering this history, Morales said he felt justified in his accusations of the Ambassador and DEA agents. However, he emphasized that he wants to improve the relationship between Bolivia and the U.S., and invited the audience to help him. He said that Bolivia is a poor country that needs help and investment, and he wants to encourage cooperation, as long as the cooperation is transparent.

In addition to addressing the current diplomatic conflict, Morales spoke more broadly about democracy in the Americas, the history of the Bolivian coca grower’s movement and his political party (MAS, the Movement Toward Socialism), and the major events of his presidency. Among those events is the controversial 2006 nationalization of the country’s hydrocarbon industries (mostly natural gas, but also including oil). Morales said that his nationalization plan brought much-needed revenue to the country and took Bolivia from a financial deficit to a financial surplus in only one year. Before nationalization, Morales said, Bolivia earned about $300 million from hydrocarbons per year; in 2007, the country received about $2 billion.

No doubt that 2008 has been tense for Bolivia and President Morales. While opposition has been vocal and even violent in recent months, this year Morales did overwhelmingly win a national referendum on his government’s performance. Unfortunately, the next few months probably won’t get easier. Morales’ plans for re-writing the Bolivian Constitution come up for a national vote on January 25, 2009. If he wants to ease the tension, maybe another appearance on The Daily Show would help.

Before Evo Morales was elected President of Bolivia, WIDE ANGLE reported on his activities as an organizer of coca growers in Coca and the Congressman.

Photo Credit: Cameron Hickey

“To all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.”

The fate of the rest of the world is so tied to U.S. policy that throughout this election cycle, many people have joked that the whole world should be allowed to vote. Pollsters found that, if this had been allowed, the world would have voted overwhelmingly in favor of Obama.

Most Americans say that the economy was the most important issue in this election, with the war in Iraq coming a distant second. What issues were most important to Obama’s global fans, and detractors? Beyond the celebrations in Kenya and formal congratulations offered by presidents and prime ministers, how are people in the rest of the world reacting to Obama’s victory?
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The Middle East

Obama’s opposition to the Iraq war has been central to his presidential campaign since day one. But Iraqi opinion is divided on his promise of a phased withdrawal of American troops. Some Iraqis say that the Obama victory represents a turn towards diplomacy and peace. But Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari fears that Obama “will not have the same enthusiasm and momentum for this situation” as President Bush has had.

Throughout this election cycle, the McCain campaign has ridiculed Obama for his stance on Iran, repeatedly calling Obama “naive” for agreeing to talk with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “without preconditions.” Many Iranians are looking forward to an American president that is open to diplomacy. But one blogger makes the point that with a new American president who has expressed his willingness to talk, the Iranian regime “can’t keep making America their enemy.” Much of the Iranian government’s power is derived from its enmity with the U.S.

American Jews were slow to embrace a relatively dovish candidate with the middle name “Hussein,” but in the end, even Gov. Sarah Palin’s profession of love for Israel wasn’t enough to sway this traditionally democratic voting block — 77 percent of American Jews cast their vote for Barack Obama. In Israel, some citizens are still skeptical, fearing that Obama, the son of a Muslim, may be overly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. But Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who herself has been referred to as “Israel’s Barack Obama” said she “expects the close strategic cooperation with the new administration” and called Obama’s election “a mark of merit for American democracy.”

Russia

U.S.-Russia relations are sure to be on a short list of foreign policy challenges the Obama administration will be facing — perhaps sooner than they might have anticipated. While many world leaders sent hearty congratulations to the president-elect, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev must have been thinking along different lines when he announced on Wednesday that Moscow would station new short-range Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region between Poland and Lithuania. The deployment is in retaliation for the missile defense shield the U.S. plans to complete in Poland and the Czech Republic by 2011. No doubt disturbing to regional leaders, the Iskander is capable of carrying a tactical nuclear warhead.

President-elect Obama spoke with Poland’s foreign minister earlier in the year and indicated that he would move forward with the anti-missile shield if he was assured the system was not targeting Russia. Both on his campaign web site and in a July/August 2007 essay for Foreign Affairs, Obama emphasized the need for engagement with Russian leaders “to update and scale back our dangerously outdated Cold War nuclear postures and de-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons.”

While Russia may be increasingly on Obama’s mind, the Russian people do not seem to be giving as much thought to him. According to a recently-released survey from the independent Levada Center, almost two-thirds of Russians didn’t care all that much about the U.S. presidential elections — 35 percent supported Obama, 14 percent were for McCain, 37 percent said they didn’t care who won, and 14 percent were undecided. Now that the election is over, “video postcards” from three Russians voice their hopes for a powerful president who will develop friendly relations with Moscow and not treat it just as a “consumer market.” Does this mean they don’t want our blue jeans anymore?

Asia

China, home to one-fifth of the world’s population and America’s largest trading partner, was surprisingly absent as a foreign policy concern during the presidential campaign. But President-elect Obama will inevitably face the challenges posed by its emergence as an economic and military powerhouse. Opinion polls indicated two-thirds of Chinese people favored Obama, whose basic policy position is that America should not demonize China, but rather engage it constructively on a wide range of political and economic issues, all the while pressing the Chinese government to respect human rights.

There is some concern in India regarding Obama’s view of the conflict between Pakistan and India over Kashmir. Obama stirred up mixed emotions in India when discussing his thoughts on Kashmir with MSNBC on November 3rd. Obama stated “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis so that they can stay focused not on India, but on the situation with those militants.” Some people in India are concerned that U.S. involvement in the conflict would alter the already tenuous relationship between India and Pakistan, and potentially encourage Kashmiri militants and separatists.

India is also wary that Obama’s strong views on non-proliferation will force India to accept the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which includes a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. In a letter to Prime Minister Singh this September, Obama wrote “I am committed to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and will make this a central element of U.S. nuclear weapons policy.”

Rajendra K. Pachauri, the Indian chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has noted the importance of U.S. leadership on climate change policy, stating “The U.S. now has a unique opportunity to assume leadership in meeting the threat of climate change, and it would help greatly if the new President were to announce a coherent and forward looking policy soon after he takes office. There is every reason to believe that President Obama will actually do so. This should please people across the globe, because U.S. leadership is critical for mounting global efforts to meet this threat effectively.”

Latin America

Latin American heads of state, from Michelle Bachelet in Chile to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were quick to congratulate Obama on his election victory, excited about his plan to rebuild U.S. leadership in a region that has been relatively ignored by the Bush administration.

In Cuba, Fidel Castro published an editorial yesterday in the state-run newspaper Granma Internacional praising Obama as “without doubt more intelligent, cultured and calm than his Republican adversary,” but questioning his commitment to foreign affairs: “Concerns over the world’s pressing problems really do not occupy an important place in Obama’s mind.” Many Cuban citizens see a ray of hope for improved relations with the U.S. as Obama has promised to allow unlimited travel and remittances to the island by Cuban-Americans, and has expressed willingness to ease the five-decade embargo if Cuba takes significant steps toward democracy, beginning with the freeing all political prisoners.

As for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, he reacted to the Obama victory with an about-face: after kicking out the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela in September, he now declares himself ready to launch a “constructive bilateral agenda” with America. Obama is likely to proceed with caution, however, having labeled Chavez a demagogue who governs with a “perilous mix of anti-American rhetoric, authoritarian government, and checkbook diplomacy.”

Neighboring Colombia seems less enthusiastic about an Obama presidency, fearing it will lose its status as America’s primary ally in the Western Hemisphere under President Bush. Obama is expected to continue supporting President Alvaro Uribe’s fight against the drug trade and the FARC guerrillas, but in an April 2008 speech said he would oppose a free trade agreement with Colombia. An editorial in the Colombian paper El Tiempo this morning predicts relations with Washington are “entering the freezer.”

In Mexico, where the election campaign had been followed closely due to the hot-button issue of immigration reform, last night’s election returns were overshadowed by a plane crash in downtown Mexico City that killed the nation’s interior minister, the point person in the government crackdown on drug cartels. Obama has pledged to work with Mexico on issues such as the drug wars, illegal immigration, and economic development, but an editorial in today’s El Universal expresses doubt that he will follow through with his promises: “Obama says little about relations with Mexico and little action can be expected in the short term, although it is important that our government be present to defend Mexican interests.”

Africa

Across Africa people are celebrating the election of Barack Obama. Kenya called a national holiday. Archbishop Desmond Tutu compared Obama’s victory to South Africa’s triumph over apartheid. The Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua said that Obama’s victory has “finally broken the greatest barrier of prejudice in human history.”

In a letter to Obama, Nelson Mandela wished him “strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead.” Mandela’s letter was a reminder of the immense expectations that the world has of Obama. “We trust that you will also make it the mission of your Presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere,” wrote Mandela.

In both the primary and general election campaigns there was virtually no discussion on Africa policy. But according to one of Obama’s foreign policy advisers, Witney W. Schneidman, a top priority for Obama will be to end the genocide in Darfur. Given the domestic issues and war in both Afghanistan and Iraq it remains to be seen how much time and resources his administration will have to end the conflict in Sudan.

It will be interesting to watch how the Obama administration will navigate China’s involvement in Africa. In a primary debate last December, Obama said that when he visited Africa he was told by a group of businessmen that “the presence of China is only exceeded by the absence of America in the entire African continent.” He also said that the US has to be “tougher negotiators with China” but asserted that, “they are not enemies, but they are competitors of ours.”

It’s impossible to predict what Obama’s administration will bring in terms of US policy toward Africa, but Archbishop Tutu’s prediction at the University of Michigan will very likely hold true, “It is going to be a new epoch,” he said.

Capital: Caracas
Population: 25.7 million (UN, 2003)
Year of Independence: 1811, from Spain
Type of Government: Federal Republic
GNP: $146.2 billion (2001 est.)

Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

Political Parties: Democratic Action (AD); Fifth Republic Movement (MVR); Homeland for All (PPT); Justice First; Movement Toward Socialism (MAS); National Convergence (Convergencia); Radical Cause (La Causa R); Social Christian Party (COPEI); Venezuela Project (PV)

Part of Colombia until 1830, Venezuela has rich supplies of natural resources, including thousands of kilometers of wilderness and rain forest. The constant development of this wilderness has endangered this resource and the people that live within it. The most profitable resource, oil, has proved a mixed blessing for Venezuela’s recently fluctuating economy, comprising around 80 percent of the country’s income from exports. Once considered highly stable, Venezuela currently faces serious threats from this dependence on oil, due to falling prices and currency depreciation. Official and institutionalized corruption has dominated the country’s economy and political system during democratic rule since 1961. As much as 85 percent of the population lives in poverty, a testament to how its wealth lies in the hands of a few powerful people. President Hugo Chávez has fought against these and other difficulties since his election into office in 1998, hard-won against the corrupted political system. The recent problems have resulted in a loss of support from all sides for Chávez, and several political showdowns inside the government. In late 2002 and early 2003, Venezuela was debilitated by a general strike that threatened the Chávez presidency. Oil workers continued to strike after other workers returned to the job, and the country briefly saw a heavy loss in revenues. Chávez survived the crisis, but his popularity suffered in the process.