This post is a response to the question "What aspects of the Venezuelan crash could have been fixed or corrected with capitalist fundamental ideals?" posed by 
The fall of Venezuela is a prime example of how socialistic policies and ideas ruined a once successful economy with healthy living standards. The economic crisis really began in 2012, but as of recently it has gotten much worse. In April of 2019, the International Monetary Fund described Venezuela as being in a “wartime economy”, and Bloomberg put Venezuela in the number one spot on its misery index (Bloomberg.com). Current president Nicolás Maduro has put price control policies in place, as well as expropriating private farmlands and other areas, that have led to severe shortages and increase in prices of virtually every common good. This has forced many manufactures to slow production or shut down, leading them to leave the country, further destroying the already struggling Venezuelan economy.
According to a study in 2021, 76.6% of Venezuelan citizens live on less that $1.90 a day, which is the international standard for extreme poverty (Wilsoncenter.org). Since the price controls, shortages of common goods like meat, coffee, rice, milk, and oil are extremely prevalent. Even some basic necessities like personal hygiene products and toilet paper have huge shortages. Some Venezuelans have had to resort to searching for food or waiting in lines for hours in order to get a simple meal. Employment is also reaching new record highs due to companies leaving Venezuela after the Maduro policies expropriated the companies that hire Venezuelan citizens.
What aspects could be corrected with capitalist ideals? Nearly all of them, but it starts with removing Maduro from power. Due to the price controls stated earlier, businesses are leaving Venezuela. I believe one of the first steps to getting Venezuela back on track would be removing the price controls. However, as long as Maduro is in power, nothing is going to be fixed in Venezuela, and the country will continue to run itself into the ground.
Sources
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/venezuelan-poverty-afghan-opium-and-russian-permafrost.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-09/venezuela-unemployment-nears-that-of-war-ruined-bosnia-imf-says.
