  Venezuela has suffered three economic catastrophes since independence: one
each in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Prominent
explanations for this trilogy point to the interaction of class conflict and
resource dependence. We turn attention to intra-class conflict, arguing that
the most destructive policy choices stemmed not from the rich defending
themselves against the masses but rather from pitched battles among elites.
Others posit that Venezuelan political institutions failed to sustain growth
because they were insufficiently inclusive; we suggest in addition that they
inadequately mediated intra-elite conflict.
