In Chapter 2 of Autocracy, Inc., Anne Applebaum details how Hugo Chávez, after winning the Venezuelan presidency in 1998, initially appeared as a reformer but soon switched to a corruption scheme. Initially, Chávez recognized the widespread anger at Venezuela’s corrupt oil-based system and campaigned against it. However, after winning the elections, he chose to perpetuate the same corrupt practices. His inner circle, including intelligence chief Jesús Urdaneta, warned him of corruption among top officials, yet Chávez did not take action against said corruption, opting instead to suppress investigations and remove Urdaneta.

Applebaum notes that Chávez’s regime ultimately turned Venezuela into a kleptocracy, with state resources being appropriated by corrupt officials. Corruption infiltrated every level of society, particularly through manipulation of currency exchange rates. Applebaum argues that, while some admired Chávez for his anti-American rhetoric and supposed progressivism, the regime’s endemic corruption led to Venezuela’s economic collapse, widespread poverty, and suffering.

Applebaum discusses how Venezuela, under sanctions imposed by the US in 2017, has survived by engaging in illegal activities such as drug trafficking, extortion, and gasoline smuggling. The regime, aided by foreign alliances with other autocratic states like Russia, China, Cuba, Turkey, and Iran, has developed a system of collaboration to sidestep economic isolation.