Word: castros
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...tens of thousands of poor Colombians might be flocking to Venezuela, just as many middle-class Venezuelans are leaving. A report by the Latin American & Caribbean Economic System, a multi-lateral organization based in Caracas, finds that from 1990 to 2007, Venezuelan emigration to developed countries rose 216%. Erick Castro, a Caracas-born engineer, left for Canada last month thanks in large part to the Venezuelan capital's out-of-control violent crime, 30% annual inflation and what he insists is the Chávez government's hostility to private enterprise...
...Castro believes that Chávez's oil-fueled Bolivarian revolution (named for 19th century South American independence hero Simón Bolívar) discriminates against the middle class. When he recently applied for a mortgage to buy a new house in a safer neighborhood, he says he was offered an exorbitant interest rate, set largely by the government, because of his economic status. "I came out with the impression that they give priority to the lower strata," he says. It's admirable to boost the poor, who before Chávez were largely ignored by Venezuela...
...left-right bluster. Both could stand to listen more to their countrymen who have voted with their feet. "I want to die in my country," says Fredys Villanueva, but not if he first can't find a job and affordable health care under Uribe. At the same time, says Castro, Chávez's "Robin Hood-type" government and its promotion of "social resentment" threaten to keep alienating a large swath of his country. As things are, however, it's doubtful that such voices stand to be heard above either Alvaro or Hugo...
...young Cuban Americans and recently arrived Cuban immigrants register to vote - they no longer see the travel ban as an inseparable component. In fact, they see lifting the ban as a way to throw a bigger ball into Havana's court, one that might oblige current Cuban President Raul Castro, Fidel's younger brother, to release more jailed dissidents or make other reform gestures...
...photos of Fidel Castro in the Jungle...