Does Venezuela really have world's largest oil reserves?
The claim that Venezuela had the "world's largest oil reserves" went viral during Hugo Chavez's presidency. It is a very convenient claim, from a geopolitical and economic viewpoint. It somehow makes the country more relevant. Chavez nurtured and repeated the legend every time he could. It became one of those revolutionary mantras that everyone regurgitates without question, like the lie that Venezuela was declared an "illiteracy free territory" by UNESCO.