This story by the New York Times addresses a pressing issue of underdevelopment in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela.
The article begins by crediting Americans who tried to develop Venezuela in the 60s. "When a group of urban planners from Harvard and M.I.T. arrived here in the early 1960s to design an industrial city almost entirely from scratch, they envisioned a “Pittsburgh of the tropics” that could anchor industrialization and population growth in southeastern Venezuela." These first few sentence in themselves show the pure lack of knowledge in the journalist. I think he may have forgotton the aspect of greed and money on the parts of Americans who went to 'aid' Venezuela.
Furthermore, according to the article, the American vision in this region failed because of population growth, which increased from 250,000 to 1 million. Its impact: a severe housing and job shortage that has led to frequent clashes between the police and squatters, commuters too poor to afford cars, and a massive divide between the elite and servants.
Moreover, the article continues to touch on the 'experiments' of socialism in Chavez's Venezuela; "these experiments with socialism have not created enough economic opportunities for residents here." The shortages have raised important questions about how far the commitment to a better life for Venezuela’s people extends.
I think it is important to look at Chavez's rhetoric before labeling it socialism. From what I've read in the past, it is not pure socialism, he is implementing capitalism as well. Do you guys feel that this article gives enough information on the region and of the situation at hand to make an educated opinion on the issue? I personally think there is more to the story of why this region failed to develop than just simply population growth. Looking at the large picture, what do you all feel about Chavez's idea of reforming Venezuela?
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My last two posts have been about Hugo Chavez actually. I feel that he has proven himself to be a man of the people. People in South America love him! What we are seeing and hearing about is the westerners fear of emerging power, the idea of multiple systems of governments challenges Capitalism, therefore we must demonize and suppress other paradigms of thought.
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