Chavez wins a 4th term

[Professor]

[Professor]

No, if a country wants to be something, they still need the US.

Check out Cuba. They have free trade with Europe and China, but they're still a backwater country. North Korea borders China, but is almost a third-world country.

No, Venezuela won't stop selling us oil anytime soon. They need our money. And, our money makes up a far greater portion of their GDP than their oil makes up of our GDP. So, if we both withhold from each other, they lose.

I'm not saying it won't hurt the US. It will. But, push comes to shove in an economic war, and the US wins.

[Homer]

[Boris Johnson]

[Homer]

[Boris Johnson]

[Homer]

[Professor]

Perhaps we're getting off on a tangent, here.

I'm saying that we should care less about how Venezuela runs its country. They will not stop selling us oil, unless we do something radical (like invade them or attempt to topple their government). They might not like us, but they like our money.

So long as they are willing to pay them the market rate for their oil, everything is gravy.

They can't "hold us hostage", either. If they withheld their oil from us, they would have to find someone else to buy it. That someone else would then decrease their imports from the ME (for example). Therefore, we would simply increase purchases from the ME.

[Homer]

[Boris Johnson]