The World Bank believes that Venezuela is going through the "worst crisis" in the history of Latin America

"Nothing could prepare the region for the escalation of the economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, by far the worst crisis in the modern history of the region"World Bank experts highlighted in their half-year report on growth forecasts for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The BM considers that Venezuela's socio-economic conditions "continue to deteriorate rapidly" due to falling oil prices, "highly distorting" government policies, disorderly fiscal adjustment, and economic mismanagement.

Similarly, the multilateral institution criticized the monetization of public sector debt by the executive of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, another circumstance that had a negative impact on the country's future.

"(These factors) caused a hyperinflation, a devaluation and a mbadive contraction of the product and consumption"said the WB.

Venezuela's real GDP contracted by 17.7% in 2018 and is expected to fall by 25% in 2019, according to World Bank forecasts, implying a cumulative 60% GDP decline since 2013.

The annual inflation rate reached 1 370 000% by the end of 2018, under the cumulative effect of a monthly rate of 121%, according to the World Bank, which calculates that the rise in prices will reach this year 10,000,000.

The World Bank's regional badysis also cited estimates from unofficial sources suggesting that poverty had reached 90% of the Venezuelan population.

Also, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration (2019), it is estimated that the number of people who will have left the country will exceed 5 million by the end of 2019.

In its report for the region, the World Bank reduced economic growth forecasts for Latin America to 0.9% in 2019, mainly due to the "weak or negative" trend in Brazil, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Mexico and Argentina and the "tragic collapse" of Venezuela. .

Six months ago, the multilateral organization for the region forecast an expansion of 1.6 percent for this year, a figure that had already been significantly reduced compared to the previous forecast.

Excluding Venezuela, however, the World Bank expects Latin America and the Caribbean to grow 1.9 percent in 2019 and 2.7 percent by 2020.