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Venezuela’s Suicide
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Venezuela’s Suicide

Lessons From a Failed State

Moisés Naím and Francisco Toro
Foreign Affairs, 2018
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In the early 1970s, Venezuela was an exemplar of democracy and Latin America’s richest economy. Fast forward to today, and the country finds itself in a state of economic free fall, with an annual hyperinflation rate of one million percent. 89% of Venezuela’s population lack enough to eat. Public services, including health care and schools, are near collapse. Violence is rampant and drug trafficking has become a main source of income for the governing elite that used to preside over a flourishing oil sector. What caused Venezuela’s spectacular collapse? Two Latin American scholars provide answers in a concise historical analysis for Foreign Affairs.

Take-Aways

  • The roots of Venezuela’s collapse date back to the 1970s, when its economy began to stagnate following five decades of continuous growth.
  • Hugo Chávez sought to move Venezuela toward Cuban-style communism and nationalized vast sectors of the economy. 
  • Chávez’s successor, Nicolás Maduro, continued Chávez’s mission and intensified government repression of dissidents.  

About the Authors

Moisés Naím is a Distinguished Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Francisco Toro is Chief Content Officer at the Group of Fifty. 

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