Chavez and Venezuela

Chavez and Venezuela
Hugo Chavez, a former military officer who was once jailed for engineering a failed coup attempt, was elected president of Venezuela in 1998. Chavez, a self-styled democratic socialist, won the presidential election by campaigning against corruption, economic mismanagement and the “harsh realities” of global capitalism. When he took office in February 1999, Chavez claimedthat he had inherited the worst economic situation in the country’s recent history. He wasn’t far off the mark. A collapse in the price of oil, which accounted for 70 percent of the country’s exports, left Venezuela with a large budget deficit and forced the economy into a deep recession.

Hugo Chávez, un ex oficial del ejército que una vez fue encarcelado por la ingeniería de un fallido golpede Estado, fue elegido presidente de Venezuela en 1998. Chávez, un autoproclamado socialista democrático, ganó las elecciones presidenciales en la campaña contra la corrupción, la mala gestión económica y la "dura realidad" del capitalismo global. Cuando asumió el cargo en febrero de 1999, Chávez afirmó que él había heredado la peor situación económica de la historia reciente del país. No estabalejos de la realidad. Un colapso en el precio del petróleo, que representó el 70 por ciento de las exportaciones del país, dejó Venezuela con un gran déficit presupuestario y obligó a la economía en una profunda recesión.

Soon after taking office, Chavez consolidated his hold over the apparatus of government. A constituent assembly, dominated by Chavez followers, drafted a new constitutionthat strengthened the powers of the presidency and allowed Chavez (if reelected) to stay in office until 2012. Subsequently, the national congress, which was controlled by Chavez supporters, approved a measure allowing the government to remove and appoint Supreme Court justices, effectively increasing Chavez’s power over the judiciary. Chavez also extended control over the media. By 2007, FreedomHouse, which annually assesses political and civil liberties worldwide, concluded Venezuela was only “partly free” and that freedoms were being progressively curtailed.

Poco después de asumir el cargo, Chávez consolidó su control sobre el aparato del gobierno. Una asamblea constituyente, dominada por los seguidores de Chávez, redactó una nueva constitución que reforzó los poderes de lapresidencia y permitió Chávez (si es reelecto) para permanecer en el cargo hasta 2012. Posteriormente, el Congreso Nacional, que fue controlado por los partidarios de Chávez, aprobó una medida que permite al gobierno de quitar y nombrar jueces del Tribunal Supremo, el aumento efectivo de poder de Chávez sobre el poder judicial. Chávez también extendió el control sobre los medios de comunicación. En 2007,Freedom House, que evalúa anualmente las libertades políticas y civiles en todo el mundo, concluyó Venezuela era sólo "parcialmente libres" y que las libertades se está restringiendo progresivamente.

On the economic front, things remained rough. The economy shrank by 9 percent in 2002 and another 8 percent in 2003. Unemployment remained persistently high at 15 to 17 percent and the povertyrate rose to more than 50 percent of the population. A 2003 study by the World Bank concluded that Venezuela was one of the most regulated economies in the world and that state controls over business activities gave public officials ample opportunities to enrich themselves by demanding bribes in return for permission to expand operations or enter new lines of business. Despite Chavez'santicorruption rhetoric, Transparency International, which ranks the world’s nations according to the extent of public corruption, reported that corruption has increased under Chavez. In 2007, Transparency International ranked Venezuela 162 out of 179 nations, down from 114 in 2004. Consistent with his socialist rhetoric, Chavez has taken various enterprises into state ownership and has required that other...