Venezuela: The Empire of Oil — Rise and Fall (Part 1: 1913–1990)

From the first commercial oil well in 1914 to the fiery streets of El Caracazo in 1989, Venezuela: The Empire of Oil — Rise and Fall (Part 1) traces how black gold reshaped a nation — and set the stage for its collapse. In this opening chapter of our series, we explore how a once-agrarian society became one of the world’s richest economies through petroleum; how booming oil exports funded infrastructure, culture, and even America’s love of the automobile; and how deep dependence on oil would later expose Venezuela to economic shocks, debt crises, and political upheaval. Through politics, protests, and the human stories behind the numbers, this episode reveals the promise and the peril of a nation built on oil.