The Venezuelan people suffered from constantly falling oil prices, which obliged those pre-Chavez administrations to implement unpopular measures .... generally at the expense of the majority. There was a clear tendency to privatize everything, sell oil at low prices, simply to get financial resources quickly ... bread for today but hunger for tomorrow.
Venezuela was a ship adrift, with huge unrest, without any national project.
However, after 11 years of President Chavez administration, we can say that the country has submitted to electoral processes on numerous occasions, and the population has been brought into political debate; electoral participation has been high; traditionally excluded sectors of the population have now realized that their vote is very important and they have a greater impact on the changes occurring in the country.
Rates of unemployment, infant mortality, poverty and extreme poverty have experienced significant declines. Compared with other Latin American countries, Venezuela has higher minimum wages ... its population enjoys wages which have continuously increased over the years ... social security pensions have been brought into line with the minimum wage and the number of pensioners has increased greatly, resulting in an improvement in the standard of living of this important sector of population.
Venezuela's indigenous population has representation in the National Assembly.
A major part for domestic agricultural and livestock production is being achieved ... an important role has been given to Venezuelan peasants, providing them with machinery, land, soft loans, etc.
Venezuela has increased its influence at international level and has an important media worldwide impact ... it has its own voice!
The Government has made an important commitment to investment in mass public transport throughout the country: railroad, metro, trolleybus, metro cable, etc. As for the rail system, there's a very sifnificant project already running, with several sections already completed, which will connect and lead the country into modernity ... interconnecting network between train, metro and local transport systems will be generated.
The Government is undertaking strong investment in infrastructure: the commissioning of Caruachi hydroelectric generation, the start of construction of the Tocoma hydroelectric plant and heavy investment in the country's electric Thermo Park to strengthen the national electricity grid, since Fourth Republic planners left the national grid depended only on hydro-power from a single region of the country...
The irony of this situation, today, is that when this outdated hydroelectric system has some problems, both Brinkley and the Venezuelan opposition blame Chavez for systematic failure...
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