Venezuela is gripped by crisis. Economic collapse and political meltdown have devastated a country that boasts the world’s largest oil reserves. Latin America’s once ‘model democracy’ now struggles to maintain order and feed a divided people. But the seeds of its current demise were sewn a century ago, when the events of its formative years ensured that the fate of Venezuela would be written in oil. The Big Picture: The Battle for Venezuela examines how the exploitation of oil created the modern nation of Venezuela and, how the oil industry helped create a divided society as well as endemic inequality. We chart the impact of industrialisation and the flux between dictatorships and democracy, highlighting the legacies of prominent leaders to shed contextual light on the troubles afflicting Venezuela today.