The news from Caracas is bleak: "Today, there's no milk, no rice, no beans, no chicken, no meat, no butter, and no cooking oil," reported one Venezuelan as he shopped at a government-run store selling subsidized staples for the poor. Despite record oil revenue, Venezuela's oil-dependent economy staggers as inflation soars to 30 percent and economic growth slows to its lowest rate in five years. Any government revenue that remains has been sapped by massive corruption and inefficiency; unaccounted social spending; growing debt; and President Hugo Chávez's costly coalition of client states, including Bolivia and Nicaragua.

What does Chávez's unconstitutional attack on private enterprise and brazen economic disregard portend for the Venezuelan people, who are already in the midst of an economic crisis? What will it take to revive Venezuela’s consumer spending and fiscal stability? What does the crisis in Venezuela mean for other countries in the region? Moisés Naím, editor in chief of Foreign Policy, will deliver a keynote address, followed by a panel of distinguished Venezuelan political and economic experts. AEI’s Roger F. Noriega will moderate.