At the end of the 1990’s, before Chávez came to power, PDVSA was ranked as the fourth most important oil company in the world according to the American Petroleum Institute’s ranking. Today it occupies the last place among 253 oil companies.

What happened in Venezuela, which four decades ago was an example of a democratic model, in the midst of a South America ruled by military governments. Today the country is at the bottom in terms of freedom, democracy and rule of law.