#42: Socialism vs. Free Market; Venezuela’s Oil; Blessing or Curse; Petro-states; Geopolitics

In this episode of Beyond the Bubble, Andras welcomes Venezuelan-American economist Jorge Jraissati for a fascinating conversation about the rise and collapse of Venezuela, oil-driven populism, and what the country's story means for Europe, China, and Iran.Jorge shares his own story growing up in Venezuela during a deepening humanitarian crisis.He explains how a country that was once one of the 20 richest in the world ended up suffering the biggest economic collapse in the region's history without a war, and the longest hyperinflation ever recorded outside of wartime.Andras and Jorge trace the mechanics of the collapse: the oil boom of 1920-1980, decades of stagnation that fed politicaldissatisfaction, Chávez's rise to power, the politicization of the state oil company. They compare Venezuela's mismanagement to Norway's sovereign wealth model, and discuss why "free money", whether oil revenue or EU development funds, often creates worse incentives than it solves.The conversation then turns to Maduro's total price controls, the debt spiral, and a humanitarian crisis that pushed poverty from 40% to over 90% of the population and forced 8 million Venezuelans to leave the country. It closes on the dramatic turning point of January 2026, Maduro's arrest by the Trump administration, and what it means geopolitically, given Venezuela's oil reserves (which are larger than Saudi Arabia's), its ties to China and Iran, Argentina under Milei, the EU-Mercosur agreement, and Latin America's chance to become a unified geopolitical bloc. Jorge closes with a direct warning for Europe: economic stagnation and lost opportunity are what push societies toward radical, often destructive, political change.