VENEZUELA’S economy is likely to grow faster than most this year and next, according to Credit Suisse. GDP is forecast to have grown by as much as 20 per cent this year (the IMF reckons 6 per cent), up from around 4 per cent in 2021 (the IMF claims 0.5), before easing down to 7 or 8 per cent in 2023. 

But there is still a long way to go before the average output and income per head trebles to reach its level before world oil prices began falling a decade ago. 

A severe devaluation of what is now the bolivar fuerte has reduced the scourge of hyperinflation to the lesser problem of inflation, although the revamped currency still struggles to maintain its value in the foreign exchange markets. Many shops remain happier to receive US dollars from foreign tourists.