Alternately the troublesome ogre of South America and the west's best friend, Venezuela has recently suffered from a litany of atrocious leaders espousing a clumsy contemporary Marxism at the same time as denigrating the country's once flourishing institutions of democracy, that go back at least as far back as Juan Vicente Gómez. The country's natural resources exist in abundance, and the optimal equatorial location and flora, combined with the country's rich history, ought to render Venezuela a magnet for tourism. Yet by reason of unwise expenditure of resource revenues, and macroeconomic incompetence, Venezuela's infrastructure is appalling and its capital city the epitome of bad urban management. The country's foreign policy is misconceived and driven by oil revenue conceit, generating routine unnecessary conflicts with neighbours. In recent times the country has proven itself unable to meet the basic needs of its citizens, leading to recurrent political instability at the same time as a population exodus. The country is a priority because it threatens the delicate political stability of the region.