Welcome to the briefing room with me, David Aronovich.

This week I'll find out just why the oil-rich state of Venezuela is in crisis.

You may well have heard of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra.

It's given some of the poorest youngsters in Venezuela

the chance to play music around the world

thanks to funding from the country's socialist government.

To many, the orchestra was a hopeful metaphor for an alternative society where the poor could flourish.

One of the violinists was 18-year-old Armando Canisales.

This year, he joined a protest against the government.

He was shot in the street and rushed into an ambulance. Armando died.

The orchestra's conductor, Gustavo Doudamel, denounced violence saying, nothing justifies bloodshed.

Enough is enough.

At least 120 people have been killed in political violence

in the last few months.

There are desperate shortages of food and medicine.

Step into the briefing room where we'll explore

why Venezuela is in crisis and look at what can be done to prevent a total collapse.

To understand the current turbulence will be looking at the history of the country and the ideas behind what's known

as the Bolivarian Revolution. This political program, characterised by generous social spending

and nationalisation of much of the economy, was named by former President Chavez after the

country's 19th century independence hero, Simon Bolivar.

Our correspondent, Vladimir, was born in Venezuela and went back recently to document the crisis.

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