Word: betancourts
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Throughout Venezuela, young and old are learning to read, write and do simple mathematics as the result of an intensive education drive by President Romulo Betancourt. When Betancourt took office almost four years ago, Venezuela was emerging from a decade of do-nothing military dictatorship; of the country's 6,500,000 people, 56% were illiterate...
Venezuela's tough-minded and hard-pressed President Romulo Betancourt, a liberal who is a dedicated enemy of Castro's, had already started preparing his country for a state of mobilization on the ground that Cuba "stands as a constant threat to our security." He now sent battle dressed marines to stand vigil over the oilfields and put one-half of Venezuela under virtual martial...
Those who are out to stop Betancourt are tagged "extremists" by Venezuelans. Most of them are from the extreme left-members of the Communist Party, of the Castro-following Movement of the Revolutionary Left, of a Reddish faction of the left-of-center Republican-Democratic Union. Some are far-right opportunists who hate Betancourt for his insistent social and economic reforms. Their campaign is disjointed: occasional attacks on isolated villages in the hills, the murder of a few Caracas policemen, machine-gun forays on Caracas embassies, a Molotov cocktail thrown at a newspaper printing plant. Up to now, the bulk...
Privilege Abused. Taking his own steps to restore order, Betancourt last week suspended constitutional guarantees of assembly and free speech, imposed radio and press censorship, suspended the right of habeas corpus and privacy of the home. More than 300 known enemies of the regime were rounded up. And Venezuela's embattled President redoubled his efforts to revoke the congressional immunity of extremist Deputies who have abused it by openly preaching insurrection against the government...
...this was strong medicine, but tough-minded Romulo Betancourt knew that he had to prescribe it in order to hold the extremists...