Venezuela might've been middle income in the late 70s and early 80s but it struggled in the 90s. Chávez rose to power in the wake of an economic crisis that kep

Venezuela might've been middle income in the late 70s and early 80s but it struggled in the 90s. Chávez rose to power in the wake of an economic crisis that kept getting worse throughout the 90s for Venezuela. He didn't come out of nowhere. Chávez screwed Venezuela over long-term, but per-capita GDP rose sharply in the aughts[1] (at least according to the World Bank). The lesson here is you should generally optimize your economic policy for broad economic prosperity - concentrating economic benefits to specific population cliques (be they socialist or capitalist) is a breeding ground for instability, authoritarianism and economic turmoil. [1] https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/VEN/venezuela/gdp-per-capita https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/VEN/venezuela/gdp-per-...