Venezuela’s History FROM When Hugo Chávez Became President: Delinquency

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DELINQUENCY: ECONOMIC SITUATION, CORRUPTION, AND BAD ADMINISTRATION
Introduction
Historically, Venezuela has been a considerably rich country. For instance, in the work of Cannon (2008), it is noted that Venezuela was among the richest countries in the world. All citizens experienced this richness because the population in late 18th Century and early 19th Century was considerably small. The country made an effort to buy slaves from Africa leading to over 100,000 slaves entering Venezuela. The population increased but these slaves were humiliated and stigmatized. As the population increased, the number of Venezuelans living in abject poverty increased rapidly. A large majority of income from oil and natural gas among other vast resources that Venezuela holds remained in the hands of a select few. By the end of the colonial rule, Venezuela had over 60 % of the population being Africans and an additional 25 % being from America (Cannon 2008, 735). Out of the 25 % Americans, an estimated 90 % were suspected to be of African descent. The per capita income has been historically high prior to 1992. However, Venezuela experienced a sharp decline in per capita income following the failed coup attempt by Hugo Chávez due to dwindling income to the populace. Cannon records that per capita income fell by almost half, from US $ 5192 to US $ 2858. On the other hand, human development index was noted to have fallen to 0.7046 from 0.8210 between 1990 and 1997. These challenges in economy led to Chávez’s election in 1998.
Delinquency: Economic Situation, Corruption, and Bad Administration
The emergence of Chávez as the new Venezuelan President saw radical changes in economic activities. Chávez has a military background and holds strong influence i...

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