A ray of sunlight at the end of the Venezuelan tunnel

SINCE the election of Hugo Chávez in December 1998, Venezuelans have embraced Chavismo - a peculiar form of socialism that has turned Venezuela into, essentially, an organised crime syndicate. Under Mr Chávez's successor, President Nicolás Maduro, the country has entered ever further into an economic death spiral. The evidence of this comes from Venezuela's inflation rate, which - according to my computations - is running at 139,839 per cent per year.

Unlike the exaggerated inflation forecasts broadcast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the data that I calculate are real and accurate measurements of Venezuela's inflation. The IMF erroneously forecasted that Venezuela's annual inflation rate would reach 2,500,000 per cent by end-2018, when in fact it reached 80,000 per cent per year. Its forecast for this year is even more fantastic: the IMF reports that Venezuela's annual inflation will reach 10,000,000 per cent in 2019. Indeed, the IMF has repeatedly forecasted Venezuela's hyperinflation, even though no one has ever been able to predict the magnitude or direction of hyperinflations throughout history.

There have only been 58 episodes of hyperinflation recorded in history, but Venezuela's episode should be noted as special. Its rate of inflation is modest by hyperinflation standards, but its longevity is extended. Venezuela's episode has lasted 27 months to date. Only four other episodes have lasted longer.