Is this new government really going to work?

If I could choose any 'dream job' it would be to work for Hugo Chavez. By working for Chavez and his government, I think it would help me understand why he his choosing what he is choosing to do and change in the great country of Venezuela.
I truly believe he his is trying to better the Venezuelan people as a whole, but people need to learn from the past. There is not one successful country in the world's history that succeeded in giving it's citizens a truly better life through the path of socialism. Will socialism raise the level of daily life for the poorest of the poor in Venezuela? Yes, probably. But, why not use the large quantities of money from the state's petroleum companies to fund programs similar to other countries' welfare, unemployment, and medicaid programs? If there is no way of motivating a country's people to work harder, learn more, and strive for a better life – no one will participate more than the bare minimum. To put it in lamen's terms – look at soccer. Take la Copa Mundial. There are various soccer teams that are playing against each other in order to take the #1 spot. If there was no #1 spot, no champion, nothing to gain, no team would even be trying, let alone a player be running and trying as hard as he can to score a goal.
I hope Mr. Chavez realizes he can be extremely powerful, succesful, and go down in the history books without changing the constitution as he plans. He can do all of this by giving the people what they want – more jobs, safer neighborhoods, more opportunity, and a way to better themselves. Venezuela is a country so rich – most people can't even comprehend it. But, it will simply revert into a lost country that isn't reaching its potentional because people are being held back and therefore the country is being held back. Chavez may believe he has supporters in other Latin American countries, but as soon as those leaders see his own people protesting, fighting, etc., they will easily not support Chavez nor his beliefs.