Word: oiling
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...medical clinics Chávez has lavished on barrios like theirs. The potable water, power lines, subsidized grocery stores, community councils that give average people more political say - they had none of that 20 years ago. Since Chávez's leftist revolution began in 1999, though, Venezuela's oil wealth has been redirected into populist spending programs that keep the poor on side and Chávez in power...
...last? Poor Venezuelans know from experience the pain of the bust that follows a boom, and with oil hovering around $40 a barrel some of Chávez's socialist agenda will surely face cuts after the referendum. Many people have begun asking why the radical who so boldly stands up to the U.S. can't confront the violent crime that plagues the country and leaves scores dead each weekend. "I know in my heart that life is better here than it was 10 years ago," says Tobías Caravallo, 42, who owns an electronics repair shop...
...immediate threat, though, is economic. Venezuela relies on oil and gas for 93% of its export revenues. López says Chávez is rushing the term-limits question to the polls again before the drop in oil prices hammers the economy and shrinks his checkbook. Inflation is more than 30%, and the country faces shortages of staples such as milk. Chávez insists his government has stored away reserves to cushion the looming pain and recently pledged that "even if the price of oil drops to zero," the social largesse will keep flowing...
People close to Chávez concede privately that the corruption issue has hurt him. Perhaps that's why he recently warned supporters who have benefited from the oil boom that "this isn't a revolution of Hummers." As for the soaring crime rate, Chávez says that a major overhaul of the police and judiciary is coming. He'll have to hope that's enough to eke out a victory in a few days' time. "We will recognize the result, as we always have, whatever it is," he said last week. And if it doesn...
...African community cannot ignore any ruler who has held power for as long as Gaddafi. Even if they tried, they would be hard-pressed to forget a self-proclaimed high king with such a flair for the dramatic—who happens to rule a country with the oil to support his tastes...