Formerly Latin America's Richest CountrySay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay in 2011 in the United States. Senator Bernie Sanders said: "Today, the American dream is more likely to come true in South America, in places like... Venezuela..., where incomes are today today more equal than in the country of Horatio. Algiers”, (https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/must-read/close-the-gaps-disparities-that-threaten-america). However, looking at Venezuela a few years later, only words can To sum up the situation: turmoil. Despite receiving trillions of dollars in oil revenues over the past decades, Latin America is in the midst of an economic collapse. This can be attributed to the redistribution programs that Sanders says are the blueprint for the American economy. When we look at images of present-day Venezuela, we see empty grocery shelves, hospitals without access to life-saving medicines, and riots. The streets are filled with a mix of street gangs, drug cartels, left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries attempting to seize power. (http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/31/news/economy/venezuela-whats-next/)This disaster was completely avoidable. Venezuela holds 18% of the world's proven oil reserves, the equivalent of 300 billion barrels. Venezuela was mostly peaceful until the late 1980s, when oil prices fell. As we have seen throughout history, when there is unrest, an authoritarian figure with a strong message is ready to rise to power. In the case of Venezuela, it was Hugo Chavez. In 1992, Hugo Chavez attempted a coup, but ended up serving two years in prison for his actions. But that was not the end: Chavez bounced back and won the presidency in 1998. His rhetoric was not initially socialist, his message was populist and made little mention of socialism. His main message focused on income inequality in Venezuela. This in turn gained favor among the poor population. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19652436)However, in 2002, after an attempted coup to overthrow Chávez, he took a radical turn. He began launching daily campaigns against wealthy Venezuelans and America. It was the rise of Venezuelan socialism. Looking at the situation through the prism of international relations, the implications of socialism were strange. The government relied on Venezuela's oil industry, just as it did when it was capitalist. In 2008, oil reached a high of $140 per barrel. This wealth financed new programs. The government began building a million new homes and several hospitals. Laptops and washing machines were distributed. Food prices were also manipulated by the government. However, this was not profitable for Venezuelan companies. In fact, Chávez used oil money to import them. Chavez easily won election after election. He continued to expropriate hundreds of private businesses. When the Bolivar began to lose value, he placed restrictions on who could buy dollars and fixed the rate. Anyone buying currency abroad was not allowed. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19652436) However, as the popular eulogy says: what goes up must come down. All of these things seemed positive and dreamlike on the surface, but..