Venezuela Yea Uen & So Young

G e o g r a p h y The Maracaibo lowlands The Mountainous region The Orinoco basin The Guiana Highlands Angel Waterfall Lake Maracaibo

Basic Facts Official Name: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Capital: Caracas Current President: Chavez Hugo Government: federal republic Official Language: Spanish Climate: tropical

Basic Facts Gini Index (Ratio of Equality):  the wealth is distributed unequally GDP (PPP): Total - $ Per Capita – $ 12,933 GDP (nominal): Total - $ Per Capita - $ 11,828

Culture

Architecture

History Peninsula de Paria Venezuela = little Venice

Ethnicities Four main cultural groups and their habitat 1)Whites (20%) - city 2)Pardos, mestizos or mixed race (66%) - city 3)Indians or Indigenous people (less than 2%) - Amazon 4)Blacks (10%) – the Carribean coast

Indigenous Tribes Hiwi People

Religion 90% - Roman Catholic Some indigenous tribes still practice their traditional religions Many converted to Roman Catholicism.

E c o n o m y : M a i n P r o d u c t s

Economy

Economy Economic Freedom Score

Society

Society

Environmental Issues Surface water contaminated due to… 1) Raw sewage and industrial waste 2) Pipeline spills in Colombia 3) Arsenic, mercury and cyanide contamination due to mining.

Mining operations that endanger the rain forest ecosystem and indigenous people

Social Problems “profoundly individualistic... profoundly unequal, and discriminatory”

FARC & Venezuela Venezuela - spill over of conflict regarding FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

Two sides of Caracas Caracas, capital of Venezuela

Two sides of Caracas The ‘barrio Petare’ on the edge of Caracas

History November 2001 – President Chavez enacts 49 new laws about land and oil industry reforms. December 2002 – Opposition coup, strikes, the Chavez government eventually overcomes 1998 – Crude oil price dropped 1998 – Hugo Chavez first elected as a president The first half of 20 th century marked by authoritarianism

Hugo Chavez First came to power in 1999 Political ideology: Left wing – Marxist, socialist former army officer supported by “chavistas” he proclaimed a “Bolivarian revolution” changed the constitution

Policies of Hugo Chavez He initiated many radical reforms, including social “missions” for literacy, health care, treatment for addicts, and job training address poverty and exclusion.

Policies of Hugo Chavez He significantly raised non-oil tax revenues

Policies of Hugo Chavez

Bolivarian Ideals

Polarized Opinion Opinions of Venezuelans on President Hugo Chavez are polarized. Some are saying that he is becoming autocratic while others are applauding that he is alleviating the poverty “What my rivals don't understand... is that Hugo Chavez is not Chavez but the people of Venezuela” - Hugo Chavez What does this quote mean?

Polarized Opinion

Popularity of Chavez Popularity of Hugo Chavez in Latin America Popularity of World Leaders

Why Do People Support Him?

Why Do People Oppose Him?

Venezuela V.S. IMF Venezuela purchased a huge proportion of Argentina and Ecuador's debts to the IMF

Referendum February 2009: Referendum to abolish the term limits in Venezuela – Chavez won

Nationalization 2008 September - Government approves nationalization of household fuel distributors and petrol stations August - President Chavez announces plans to nationalize one of the country's largest private banks, the Spanish-owned Bank of Venezuela.

Land Reform 2005 January - President Chavez signs decree on land reform to eliminate Venezuela's large estates.

Sources _city_of_contrasts/html/1.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/in_pictures_caracas__ _city_of_contrasts/html/1.stm ge1.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456996/html/nn4pa ge1.stm