The most reliable data suggest that he was successful at reducing inequality; during his rule, Venezuela’s Gini coefficient, a 100-point scale measuring income inequality, fell from 50 to 39, the biggest decline in Latin America. Poverty was cut in half – from 50% to around 25% of the population, while extreme poverty fell by two-thirds.
那么委内瑞拉的石油财富哪儿去了？查韦斯的社会事业是最大的受益者。他常常走到农村，现场签发支票给贫苦农民。最可靠的数据表明，他成功地减少了不平等性；在他执政期间，委内瑞拉的基尼系数（衡量收入不平等性的百分制指标）从50下降至39，是拉丁美洲国家中下降幅度最大的。贫困被消灭了一半——人口比重从50%降至约25%，极端贫困更是减少了三分之二。