How Progressivism Destroyed Venezuela: A Cautionary Tale

December 6, 1998. The Venezuelan people went to the polls, hopeful for change and a brighter future. Hugo Chávez Frias won, promising a return to the prosperity of Venezuela’s golden era. But the reality that followed was far from the dream.

Over the next two decades, Venezuela transformed dramatically—politically, economically, and ideologically. Once one of Latin America’s most stable democracies, it became a nation teetering on the brink of collapse. How did a country on the path to first...