Steel, oil joint ventures, telecommunications, electricity, the third-biggest bank and, on Monday, cement: the growing number of industries falling into the hands of the Venezuelan government is making President Hugo Chávez’s so-called 21st-century socialism look more and more like the plain old 20th-century version.

With a number of weaker economies hard-hit by rising energy and food prices, the regional influence of this oil-rich socialist state is advancing. Fashioning policies that can counter its influence will be a priority for whoever wins the US election in November.