Venezuela was once one of the richest nations in the world.

Now it is the poorest nation in the Americas.

What happened?

After Venezuela adopted a democratic form of government in 1958 through the 1980s, the country was the richest nation in South America. Gigantic oil reserves were discovered in Lake Maracaibo during World War I. That changed the economy from dependence on agricultural exports to an oil-rich exporter.  By 1935, Venezuela’s per capita gross domestic product was the highest in Latin America.

That started to shift when Carolo Andres Perez was elected in 1973. There was a worldwide oil crisis and oil prices went through the roof. Venezuela nationalized its oil industries in 1976.

This poured a fortune into the federal government and increased public spending. It was also accompanied by a load of external debts, which came back to bite Venezuela in the 1980s when oil prices plummeted. They devalued the currency in 1983 and the standard of living fell.

Socialist economic policies and corruption in high places took their toll.

In 1997, Hugo Chavez founded the Fifth Republic Movement and then he started the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 2007. This was called the Bolivarian Revolution. It was supposed to install democracy, economic independent, equal distribution of revenues and the end of political corruption.

It didn’t.

It just made matters worse.

Chavez was elected president in 1998 and there was an effort to rewrite the Venezuelan Constitution. Chavez made no pretense – this was full-blown socialism.

In 2002, there was an attempted coup and Chavez was temporarily out of power. That only lasted two days and his supporters rallied with the support of the military and he was back in charge.

Price controls didn’t work. When companies realized they couldn’t make a profit because of low prices, they shut down. That led to the shortage of necessities.

A strike in 2002-2003 crippled the state-owned oil company, costing the country more than $13 billion in lost revenue. Foreign companies withdrew their investments because of the volatility of the government and the imposition of currency controls.

Oil profits were lost to social engineering and a refusal to maintain production plants.

After the death of Chavez in 2013, a state of emergency was declared in 2016 by President Nicolas Maduro. Chavez had picked Maduro as his successor and appointed him vice president in 2013. Maduro was elected president in 2013.

Venezuela devalued its currency in February 2013 due to the rising shortages of milk, flour and other necessities. This led to an increase in malnutrition, especially among children.

Beginning in 2014, the price of oil fell from over $100/barrel to $40/barrel and Venezuelan was no longer able to afford its socialist programs.

The government took more money from the state oil company and that resulted in a loss of key employees and needed reinvestment. Oil production dropped from 3 million barrels a day to 1 million barrels day.

Since 2015, more than two million Venezuelans have fled the country. In July 2016, Colombian border crossings were temporarily opened to allow Venezuelans to purchase food and basic household and health items in Colombia. One Spanish-language news source reported that 15% of Venezuelans live off food waste put in the trash by restaurants and businesses.

Now things are worse.

Maduro’s political enemies (more than 700) have disappeared without a trace.

There are reports of cannibalism in the prisons. People are eating family pets and zoo animals. Venezuelans who fled to Columbia and other countries could not find work or help. Some have come back and they have imported the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. State Department has told all tourists to reconsider travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure and detention of U.S. citizens. There are numerous areas that are extremely dangerous. Christian mission organizations struggle to get help to the Venezuelans trapped in the socialist country.

Why is this important?

This is a vivid example of what socialism does to a country. Under socialism, people basically give all their resources and rights to a centralized government that in turn guarantees to meet all their needs. But they don’t.

What happens in a small totalitarian ruling class seizes absolute control and rules with an iron fist. The middle class disappears and you have a tiny group of really rich rulers and everyone else is poor. It happened in Russia, China, Cuba and Venezuela.

So why are Americans rushing to embrace socialism? Why are we toying with the idea of electing a president who wants to stifle dissent, add justices to the Supreme Court, tax the “rich,” eliminate the Electoral College and pay everyone a “universal income?”

Isn’t that socialism?

Isn’t that exactly what happened to Venezuela, one of the richest countries in the world that is now one of the poorest and most dangerous?

This is the plan by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Shumer and other Democrats.

Capitalism isn’t perfect but it works pretty good in America. Re-elect Donald Trump and we have a chance to leave a legacy of freedom to our children. Elect Joe Biden, and we take a giant step toward totalitarianism and socialism.