Once Latin America's Richest Country Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In 2011 in the United States. Senator Bernie Sanders said: “Nowadays, the American dream is more likely to be realized in South America, in places like (…) Venezuela(…), where incomes are actually more equal today than they are not in the land of Horace Algiers”, (https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/must-read/close-the-gaps-disparities-that-threaten-america). However, looking at Venezuela just a few years later, only words can summarize the situation: turmoil. Despite receiving trillions of dollars in oil revenues in recent decades, Latin America is in the midst of economic collapse. It can be traced back to the redistributionist programs that Sanders believes are the model for the US economy. Looking at photos of present day Venezuela you will find grocery store shelves empty, hospitals have no access to vital medicines and riots occur. 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, which equate to 300 billion barrels. Venezuela was rather peaceful until the late 1980s, when oil prices collapsed. As seen throughout history, when there is turmoil, an authority 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. However this was not the end, Chavez recovered and won the presidency in 1998. His rhetoric was not initially socialist, his message was populist and made little reference to socialism. His main message centered on Venezuela's income inequality. This in turn won the favor of the poor population. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19652436) However in 2002, after a coup attempt to overthrow Chavez, it took a radical turn. He began launching daily broadsides against wealthy Venezuelans and America. This was the rise of Venezuelan socialism. Looking at the situation through the lens of international relations, the implication of socialism was in a strange way. The government relied on Venezuela's oil industry just as it did when it was capitalist. In 2008, oil reached a record high of $140 a barrel. This wealth has funded new programs. The government began building one million new homes and numerous hospitals. Laptops and washing machines were distributed. Food prices have also been manipulated by the government. However, it was not profitable for Venezuelan companies to make it. In fact, Chavez used oil money to import them. Chavez easily won election after election. He went on to expropriate hundreds of private companies. When the Bolivar began to lose value, he placed restrictions on who could buy dollars and fixed the rate. Anyone purchasing international currency was not allowed. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19652436) However, as the popular praise goes: what goes up must come down. All of these things seemed positive and dreamlike on the surface, yet these very actions sowed the seeds of the current crisis. Due to Chavez's restrictions, men.