National Geographic: Venezuela's oil wealth fueled Hugo Chavez's socialist programs at home and policies abroad, but the world's largest petroleum reserves were never enough to deliver prosperity in his 14-year rule.
One of Chavez's final acts, ordered last month from his hospital bed, was to cut the price of the national currency by a thirdthe seventh devaluation of his presidencyin an attempt to narrow a staggering deficit with a hike in the cost of living for Venezuelans. He died yesterday at the age of 58, leaving...