Reply #7: Try www.venezuelanalysis.com. I believe they have facts and figures. [View All]

[Peace Patriot]

As I recall, all indicators are up. One I particularly remember is that literacy has gone from some very low figure (50%?) to 100% literacy in 4-5 years, due to oil profit funding of adult literacy programs throughout poor regions, and also the provision of schools to the poor. Tells you how badly the vast poor and brown population of Venezuela was neglected, prior to TRANSPARENT elections and majority rule. I'm not good with remembering figures, but I've read many accounts of the impacts of this literacy program, which has profoundly changed the lives of the poor, with many people who felt hopeless formerly now having ambition and higher goals. Another big impact has occurred with the oil profits funding of medical clinics in poor areas, and also community centers, and loans and grants to small businesses and coops. It sounds to me like it's very constructive aid. And one of its goals is food self-sufficiency. People are encouraged to "stay on the farm" so that Venezuela (which formerly imported much of its food) can begin to feed itself. Another goal is diversification of the economy, looking to the future when the oil runs out. I've read several accounts of the new coops--a taxi coop, and a shoe factory coop. It's heartening to read how optimistic people are. They never dreamed that anybody would actually help them--give them the small loans and other small boosts they needed to get their modest enterprises going. These anecdotal accounts tell you a lot--maybe not facts and figures--but how Chavez policy is actually affecting people--and that assistance IS getting down to the people who need it.

Finally, one thing that touched me was funding for indigenous arts, and the resurgence of native music that it has inspired. They've found all these old guys with musical instruments and skills that the young have forgotten, and they are experiencing a renaissance. They are now rejecting the "canned" music imported from the U.S. and elsewhere, by corporate interests, and indigenous music is thriving--including record sales and performance (the business end). In other words, a market was created--and one that enriches the culture.

They do have an outright food subsidy for the poorest of the poor--who would starve otherwise. It's food at greatly discounted prices--not just a giveaway. But one criticism I read of it came from a woman with a small independent grocery business who said that the food coop was driving her out of business (undercutting her prices). A fair criticism, certainly--and something should be done to assist a small business in that circumstance. (I was thinking if the rich oil elite--who seems so spoiled and childish, throwing temper tantrums and colluding with the Bush Junta on evil plans to overthrow Chavez, that don't work, because they have no popular support--would spend their energy on CONSTRUCTIVE criticism--for instance, how to successfully mix a capitalist/socialist economy--they would be doing something for their country. But they likely have no more concern about small businesses, or a truly healthy economy, than our corporate elite does.)

Another thing I know that is being worked on, fervently, by the Chavez government, and local governments, is low cost housing for the poor. This is a critical need in Caracas--which has bad slums on in-motion hillsides (a lot of housing just slides away in heavy rains). The reason I know about this is that the leftist mayor of Caracas went a bit too far, and had a plan to confiscate two country clubs/golf courses in the city, to convert the lands to low cost housing. It was nixed by the Chavez government because it was unconstitutional. Venezuela's constitution protects private property. But other usable lands are being found.

In summary, you are right that Venezuela, while not a poor country, has a vast population of poor people, because all the oil riches were being hoarded by the few, and being bled off to oil giants. Oil was nationalized in Venezuela long before Chavez. What Chavez has done is to institute fair taxation of the oil giants, to increase the government's revenues, and he is using this money for the above programs and other policies to help underserved and badly neglected people (for instance, to give back some lands to the indigenous). The rich oil elite (no doubt instigated by the fascist Bushites, and certainly by the oil companies) tried to destroy Chavez's government with a crippling oil professionals strike. These were the "white" Venezuelans--the traditional small and very well-off elite, who had always exploited and oppressed everybody else. They nearly destroyed Venezuela's economy. Chavez fired them all (the roughest thing he's had to do). And lesser skilled people had to take over, under highly pressured conditions, and had to learn the technology quickly and get the oil pumping again--which they successfully did. (One of the things that the oil strikers and the oil companies did was to sabotage all the computers.) So a whole new oil professional group was born. Anyway, it hasn't been easy for Chavez and his government. Those against him, some directly funded with your tax dollars, have tried one thing after another, to bring down this government--a coup attempt, an oil strike, a truly stupid and wasteful recall election, and 24/7 vituperation by the corporate news monopolies. With all of these crises--and relentless criticism--it's a miracle that the government is stable and able to accomplish ANYTHING. But it does seem quite stable, with great popular support--and economic indicators steadily rising over the last two years or so.