Under the presidency of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan economy grew mainly through oil. They saw a surge in the prices of barrels during his reign. The economy looked like it had a bright future.
However, the way he carried out his power trip was soon to bring an end to his presidency. In 2013 Nicolas Maduro came into power. The barrels saw a sharp drop in prices. Sanctions from the US hit Venezuela. Corruption was still as high as it was.
To battle the crisis, banknotes were printed recklessly and very, very abundantly. Bolivar had almost become worthless, very hard to find, and even harder to earn.
As prices surged, the people of Venezuela found it extremely difficult to purchase essential items. Some turned to debit cards but couldn't purchase more than a loaf of bread without maxing out the daily limit.
Corruption, sanctions, and printing had brought the bolivar to its death. The authorities tried removing 5 zeros from the prices - which cemented the end of the bolivar.
By this time, the people stored their wealth in commodities like toilet paper, diapers and bread. Bartering was back, a system long lost in history. Imagine holding and trading gold, but it is bread and diapers instead of gold...to survive!
At one time, the people farmed Runescape items to survive, since that was more valuable than the banknotes, themselves.
Here comes Gabriel Jemenez, coder, entrepreneur, and crypto enthusiast. He starts building Petro. A crypto solution to the crisis. He is actively speaking for the people and against the systematic downfall of the economy. He takes part in marches and rallies, as well as keeps developing the Petro.
Gabriel speaks very boldly and openly about his crypto solution, Petro. Albeit not many were aware of solutions the likes of btc, eth or dash could provide, due to prices or knowledge limits, he kept developing, advertising and pushing Petro.
He put together a team of employees and found investors. All of a sudden he is contacted by a government liaison and offered to shill petro to the national bank. Although Gabriel suspected this to be a trap, he goes ahead with it and executes the meeting.
According to him, the interview held some of the most basic questions. This is very concerning, considering this is the national bank and they have plans of integrating Petro into the national economy.
It was absurd that the Petro was being given so much attention by the same regime that Jimenez openly protested against. The Petro was specifically designed to reform the economy by exposing the corruption of the regime that was looking to accept the coin.
In February 2018, the president announces the adoption of Petro as the national cryptocurrency. A vague idea of pegging the barrels, regulating the economy with Petro and making it a scapegoat out of the tough sanctions. Jemenez is shocked, did his project get stolen?
He contacts his liaison but is assured nothing is stolen, but the Petro has simply been accepted by the President. But this was simply the start of the end.
Long story short, the Petro is now under strict scrutiny by the regime. Jemenez is pressured to alter the coin to the demands of the regime. He is pressured to give up the whitepaper. He is threatened to be "disappeared" if he doesn't follow orders.
He escapes to the US. And Petro never fully launches. The entire shenanigans are labeled as a stunt by the regime to keep the public satisfied and continue their dirty work.
In a sad turn of events, the Petro which was to save the country was turned into another fork in the steak by the regime. The original coder had to escape from his own country and the people left to doom.
It is rather difficult to find the original coder and pitcher of Petro, Gabriel Jemenez, with a simple google search like "Petro" or "Venezuelan Cryptocurrency". He is rather hidden and better found by googling his own name.
