I think you're referring to European Social Democracies. That's a different type of regime than socialism -- for the most part they don't try to own the means of production. Venezuela is nothing like one of those countries. Chavez built a sort of hybrid of "Bolivarianism" and socialism. They rejected "imperialist" ties, nationalized many industries and tried to develop more self-sustainability.

End of the day, there seems to be a need for balance between capitalist striving and government administration based on something other than profit/loss.

Most of the people who cry "socialism" in the US are inspired/motivated by people who control access to natural resources.