1. Expropriations

    ISSUES:

    Expropriations

    Since 2002, the Chávez government has ordered more than 988 expropriations of foreign and domestic companies. Experts estimate the total costs of major nationalizations since 2006 - aside from seized land, farms, sugar mills or industrial facilities - at $23.3 billion.
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  2. Attacks on the Press

    ISSUES:

    Attacks on the Press

    The Venezuelan government systematically suppresses dissenting political opinions in the press. Since 2007, at least three TV networks and 34 radio stations have been shut down by the government. In addition, privately-owned newspapers are constantly under threat or face temporary shutdowns if they do not practice self-censorship.
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  3. Abuse of Power

    ISSUES:

    Abuse of Power

    Venezuela's judicial and legislative branches of government have become rubber stamps for all policies driven by President Hugo Chávez. Anybody who dares challenge the President’s authority faces harassment at best and legal charges at worst.
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  4. Interventionism

    ISSUES:

    Interventionism

    President Hugo Chávez has no qualms about sending Venezuela’s “petrodollars” abroad to his friends. Chávez has bankrolled Nicaragua and provided oil at cut-rate prices to various countries, most notably Cuba. The Chávez government has also been accused numerous times of supporting terrorist groups in other countries.
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Posted on October 3, 2013

ICYMI: To Venezuelans, Heir of Chavez Is a Poor Copy

The New York Times
October 2, 2013
By William Neuman

VENEZUELA articleLarge e1380753017255 ICYMI: To Venezuelans, Heir of Chavez Is a Poor Copy

Courtesy of: The New York Times

CARACAS, Venezuela — The start of the season for two premier teams in this baseball-loving nation was thrown into doubt after thieves stripped vast amounts of copper wire from the lights in this city’s main stadium. Basic items are often so hard to find that when a truck driver slumped dead at the wheel after a highway accident last week, motorcycle-riding looters swarmed in to grab the cargo: tons of red meat.

Prices are soaring, the country is plagued by electrical blackouts, some neighborhoods go days without water, and protests tangle the already stifling traffic. To

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Past Posts

Oct 1 ICYMI: With Accusations of Sabotage, Venezuela Expels 3 US Embassy Officials

Sep 20 ICYMI: Venezuela keeps rooting for Syrian dictator