Before Hugo Chavez took over Venezuela and appointed himself Dictator, Venezuela was one of the most prosperous Countries in South America and was nearing first world levels of economic development.
Venezuela sits on the second or third largest proven reserves of oil in the world.
Chavez and his cronies have looted the country and destroyed the economy in the classic Banana Republic tradition.
Chavez started office as a poor military colonel but died in office 15 years later worth at least 2 Billion dollars. Some of his cronies did an even better job of looting the country.
Hugo and his family became so power hungry and arrogant that Hugo’s daughter has refused to vacate the Presidential Palace and has forced Maduro to live in modest house.
To the best of my knowledge, she is still living these.
President Obama is using Hugo Chavez as a case study on how seize control of a modern democratic political and economic system, loot it of it’s wealth and run it into the ground.
So far, after seven years he is ahead of Chavez’s pace
And the system you describe is fueled by an educational system that does not teach even the most basic facts of economics, like here, so that the voters vote to keep their chains in place. Like here.