Venezuela at the bottom of International Property Rights Index

In the legal and political areas of the index, Venezuela occupied the lowest position, together with Zimbabwe

Economy
According to the 2009 International Property Rights Index (IPRI), Venezuela ranked 109th among 115 countries included in the survey.

The IPRI is an international comparative study that measures the significance of both physical and intellectual property rights and their protection for economic well-being. It is prepared by the Property Rights Alliance, a parent organization that has initiated a series of IPRI studies for the Hernando de Soto Fellowship Program.

The survey takes into account several variables for 115 countries around the globe. It considers that a grade near 10 would be the best result, whereas a result near zero would be the worst. Finland tops the ranking, while Bangladesh ranks last. Venezuela has a weighted score of 3.2, and is one of the last countries in the list.

Based on these results -that were reported by Venezuelan businessman Rafael Alfonzo Hernández, president of the Venezuelan think-tank Center for the Dissemination of Economic Information for Freedom (Cedice Libertad), which is part of the Property Rights Alliance-, the index measures three categories: a) Legal and Political Environment (judicial independence and political stability), in which Venezuela gained 2.0 points and ranked 114th; b) in the Physical Property Rights (physical protection of property rights), Venezuela was given a score of 4.5 points, and ranked 99th; and c) Regarding Intellectual Property Rights (patents and trademarks), Venezuela's score was 3.2 points, ranking 99th in the list.

Venezuela ranked 114th in the list together with Zimbabwe in the legal and political environment and ranked 109th in the weighted average, together with Chad.
According to the study, "Venezuela does not have an independent judiciary and there is no confidence in the Supreme Tribunal of Justice," Rafael Alfonzo said.

Alfonzo added that after examining the results of the report, one could say that "there is low political stability and that corruption has not been controlled. These facts, together with expropriations and nationalizations, show that there is little protection of these rights, he stressed.