David Charles Randall - Sorry, but you want it both ways. The so-called Bolivarian Revolution is a  leftist political process firs led by Hugo Chávez, the founder the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.  It continues to this day. You people on the left can't just point to your alleged "successes" (if being taxed to death in places like Sweden is your idea of success) and simply dismiss the obvious failures like Venezuela, an oil-rich country where the people are literally starving, thanks to socialism. It's your baby - don't deny it.