ABSTRACT
Examining Venezuela in the mid-1990s suggests—at least for now— the absence of a clear-cut fast-forward option for Venezuela. While Chile, Argentina, and possibly Colombia are on their way to reaching the next level of development, Venezuela teeters on the edge. Venezuela’s modern national period commenced under the leadership of one of Bolivar’s generals, José Antonio Páez. A number of strongmen or caudillos followed him, establishing a political economy that survived until the late 1920s. Oil became the fountain of Venezuelan wealth in the twentieth century. From its wellsprings came a modern industrial economy, linked to the outside world through oil pipelines, tankers, and contracts with multinational firms. The combination of oil wealth, good intentions, and a statist development philosophy resulted in a welfare state that was eventually beyond the country’s means. The seriousness of corruption in Venezuela should not be understated, especially as discontent with it drove a number of junior officers to seek the violent overthrow of the government.
