IMF, WB ready to respond to Venezuelan humanitarian crisis
WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank said Thursday they are ready to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela if their participation is requested.
The country is suffering hyperinflation and the economy is rapidly shrinking, causing enormous hardships. Output by the government oil company and other nationalized firms has plummeted in recent years, and new U.S. sanctions are also hurting.
But President Nicolás Maduro has followed the lead of his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, and shunned the two international lending agencies, accusing them of imposing damaging austerity policies on nations they aid.
Neither the World Bank nor the IMF has taken a position in the political struggle between Maduro and Juan Guaidó, the U.S.-backed head of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress who has declared himself interim president.