"now the poor people enjoy a higher standard of living"

Venezuela's standard of living has not progressed as much as Latin America as a whole. In fact it was higher than average in 1975, pre-Chavez, but as of 2005 it is below the average.

This is based on HDI, Human Development Index which looks beyond GDP to a broader definition of well-being. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and enrolment at the primary, secondary and tertiary level) and having a decent standard of living

http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/hdi-trends/ven_2.gif