Pérez AD first term — oil nationalisation, 'Gran Venezuela'

Doctrine — stated goals and content

First Pérez presidency coincided with the 1973 OPEC price revolution quadrupling oil prices. Four doctrinal pillars: (1) iron-ore nationalisation (Decreto 580 de 1974, in effect 1 January 1975) creating CVG Ferrominera Orinoco; (2) oil nationalisation — Ley de Nacionalización de la Industria Petrolera (Ley 5 de 1975, effective 1 January 1976) created Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) as holding company over the former Shell, Exxon, and Gulf concessions; the model retained foreign technical-service contracts and compensation ~USD 1bn; (3) "La Gran Venezuela" industrial diversification — V Plan de la Nación (1976-1980) financed SIDOR steel expansion, ALCASA/VENALUM aluminium smelters, petrochemical complexes (Morón, El Tablazo), and Guri hydroelectric expansion; public-sector investment peaked ~16% of GDP (1977); external debt rose from USD 1.2bn (1973) to USD 16bn (1978) despite oil windfall; (4) social expansion — universal-benefits expansion, education enrolment, housing (Mission-style prior to Chávez Missions), and nationalisation of foreign-owned banking branches. Stated school: AD social-democratic developmentalism in the Betancourt-Leoni tradition; national-resource-sovereignty doctrine. Left-right axis: centre-left economic content within Puntofijo consensus. Popularity / legitimacy: December 1973 election Pérez won 48.7% vs COPEI's Lorenzo Fernández 36.7% — largest AD margin since founding; 1978 succession Luis Herrera Campins (COPEI) defeated AD's Luis Piñerúa 46.6% to 43.3%. Coherence line: trade foreign-capital access and fiscal discipline for oil-and-iron sovereignty, state-led diversification, and expanded social commitment; bet that PDVSA and diversification would sustain growth beyond the commodity cycle proved partially wrong as Dutch Disease and debt built up.