Word: venezuelan
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...fueled civil wars in Colombia for centuries. "The economic growth statistics published in the media are one thing," says Patricia Yañez, a sociologist at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas who studies Chávez's anti-poverty programs. Colombia's migratory data "suggest something different." Venezuelan state television has even been rolling out Colombian expatriates to praise Chávez's social programs and support him in his spat with Uribe over Colombia's recent decision to let U.S. troops use Colombian military bases. (Read about why Hugo Chávez is considered a hero...
Still, Venezuela's own migratory numbers suggest a different story than the one Chávez's "21st century socialism" promotes. While 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...
...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's élite. But Flerida Rengifo, a demographics analyst at the Central University, says stories of the Venezuelan middle-class brain drain are getting more common. "There's no support for private industry," she says, "so people feel unsupported by the state in terms of their ability to invest in the country...
...coup leaders still feel Zelaya should be prosecuted for defying a Supreme Court order not to hold a referendum on constitutional reform. They were also worried that he planned to eliminate Honduras' ban on presidential re-election and turn the country into a puppet of his left-wing ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Those fears were the basis for the June coup. Many Zelaya supporters, meanwhile, feel Micheletti and other coup leaders should stand trial as well. Still, Clinton, amid her visit to Pakistan on Friday, hailed Honduras for being a rare "example of a country in Latin America that...
Micheletti insists Zelaya was overthrown because he defied a Supreme Court order against holding a referendum on constitutional reform that could have lifted Honduras' ban on presidential re-election. And he claims he's protecting Honduras from the sway of Zelaya's left-wing ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. But critics say Micheletti is acting a lot like just the kind of authoritarian caudillo he accuses Chávez of being. Micheletti recently fired back at visiting OAS delegates that they and his other critics "don't know the whole truth, and at times it appears that...