Bleak media reports about the country’s polity and economy are exaggerated.
![Prices of consumer goods shot up in Venezuela as a result of price speculation [AP]](https://aljazeeranews-3fuh52rgrl.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/201311306233562734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Hassan Akram holds a PhD in political economy from Cambridge University and currently teaches at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Chile.
Bleak media reports about the country’s polity and economy are exaggerated.
![Prices of consumer goods shot up in Venezuela as a result of price speculation [AP]](https://aljazeeranews-3fuh52rgrl.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/201311306233562734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)