For some time, Hugo Chávez, his officials, and various supporters have claimed that FONDEN, intended to be a kind of development fund for tough times, had $57 billion. Today, the truth has come to light: Alí Rodríguez, the Finance Minister, stated that the fund has “accumulated” a value of $57.8 billion since 2005, of which $44.5 billion has been “invested.”
Does this mean that the FONDEN balance now shows only $13 billion in cash? What investments are these? Who valued those investments at $44.5 billion, Dick Fuld? Is this the reason for the reduced cash balance that led Venezuela to accept $3.5 billion from the IMF?
Spin that, you piece of Weisbrot!