Venezuela Country Summary: The Country Of Venezuela

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Venezuela Country Report
History
Venezuela was first explored by Columbus on his third journey in 1498 where he found Arawak, Carib, and Chibcha natives (9 Infoplease). The name Venezuela means little Venice. Venezuela was one of the first South American colonies to revolt against colonial rule in 1810 winning its independence in 1822. It became a republic in 1830 than a period of unstable dictators ruled Venezuela until 1870 (9 Infoplease). In 1870 Antonio Guzman Blanco governed till 1888 during which he built and infrastructure, expanded agriculture, and he invited foreign investment (9 Infoplease).
From 1908 to 1935 Gen. Juan Vicente Gómez was the dictator. This is the period when Venezuela became a major exporter of Oil. In 1946 Venezuela drafted a new constitution (9 Infoplease). Rómulo Gallegos a famous writer became the first elected leader of Venezuela. Gallegros’s term lasted only 8 months when military-backed coup led by Marcos Peréz Jiménez over through him (9 Infoplease). From 1969 to 1974 Rafael Caldera Rodríguez legalized the Communist party and established diplomatic relations with Moscow. Venezuela also benefited greatly from the Oil boom during this time. In 1976 Venezuela nationalized foreign owned oil and steel companies (9 Infoplease).
Venezuela heavily relied on oil exports which put it at economic risk and during 1978 the price of oil fell which put the economy in a tail spin (9 Infoplease). In 1994 with rising debts and falling oil prices half of Venezuela’s banking sector collapsed. Venezuela tried to boost its economy by expanding gold and diamond mining to reduce its dependency on oil (9 Infoplease).
Hugo Chavez
In 1999 Hugo Chavez took office. He was a very leftist president and promised economic refor...

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...on, driving efficiency, and reducing corruption. The poor economy has caused civil unrest and an increase in crime rates. Violent mass protests are being held throughout the county demanding the government to fix the countless economic and security problems. Venezuela also has one of the highest murder rates in the region. These problems have brought instability and further damage the economy. The biggest surprise I have learned is that even with all these problems Venezuela is the happiest country in Latin America. I believe the main reason for this is that the government mostly looks after the poor working class which makes up most of the country’s population. Venezuela has many problems but I believe that with gradual liberalization, privatization, diversification of the economy, and more regional economic integration Venezuela can become a prosperous country.

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