Resource Revenue Management in Venezuela: A Consumption-Based Poverty Reduction Strategy

At the time of his death on March 5, 2013, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez left his country with enormous oil reserves but also billions of dollars in foreign debt. Support for him among poor Venezuelans was driven largely by his program to reduce poverty with oil revenues.

Our report, commissioned in 2012, details how this program, while successful by some measures, is unsustainable because it does not address the roots of poverty and has not boosted economic growth to levels that would encourage private investment.

The report also discusses the Chávez administration's nationalization of the economy, including expanding the national oil company and the nationalization of utilities, financial institutions and agriculture.