Late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez proved that one person can make a huge difference. In his case, it was almost universally negative.
Chavez was a committed revolutionary and charismatic dictator driven to build what he called "Socialism of the 21st Century." After being elected president of Venezuela in 1998 he implemented a new constitution seeking a fundamental transformation of the country, promising extensive rights and benefits to the downtrodden and radically augmenting his personal power. He nationalized industries, redistributed wealth, and bowled over any who go in his way.
Like almost all socialist experiments, Chavez's "Bolivarian Revolution" was pointless and harmful. It has left Venezuela with a basket-case economy. Venezuela's currency, the bolivar, suffers from 20% inflation and has been devalued five times in a decade. Chavez increased economic equality by spreading the poverty around. His attempts to promote nutrition through price controls resulted in food shortages and malnutrition. He spent millions on unfinished or never started public works projects. Chavez kept Venezuela afloat by exploiting the guaranteed income from the nationalized oil industry, which accounted for over half of government revenue. Nevertheless, he ran up massive budget deficits and increased foreign debt holdings, principally by China.
Not everyone approved of Chavez's revolution, but they risked their lives if they went public with their criticism. Chavez jailed critical journalists and harassed press outlets that questioned his rule. Armies of pro-Chavez street thugs intimidated, beat and sometimes killed political opponents. A pliant, Chavez-controlled judiciary gave a rubber-stamp of legitimacy to the revolutionary repression. Workers were forbidden from organizing except in approved, state-controlled unions. Elections and referenda were rigged, and international election monitors were kicked out of the country if they tried to do their jobs too effectively.
In his foreign policy, Chavez pursued a consistently anti-American line. He created the "Bolivarian Alliance," an alliance of fellow socialists in Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, bound by dogmatic opposition to the United States. He supported the drug-running terrorist group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and sought military cooperation with Iran. Chavez's policies poisoned relations with the United States, creating needless conflict when cooperation would have been more beneficial for both countries.
Chavez's passing could usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for Venezuela. Free-market economic reforms could see the country following the growth path of regional powerhouse Brazil. And there is no reason to continue with Chavez's destructive, anti-U.S. foreign policy. Given the unqualified failure of his socialist experiment, dying young was probably the best thing Hugo Chavez could have done for his country.
James S. Robbins is a senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council.