On the February 12, 2014, thousands of students from different universities flooded the streets of Caracas to protest their dissatisfaction with the government of Nicolas Maduro. Lead by opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, the students demanded the improvement of living conditions which have significantly deteriorated in the past fifteen years. Since February the protest have not ceased. Recent events have highlighted possible peace talks among the protesters and the government, however, skepticism reigns on the mind of those who have been disappointed by the corrupt government. This skepticism is a result of the government exerting the rule by law instead of the rule of law. This inadequate use of the law has not only created corruption in the government, it has also created great economical distress in Venezuela.
In Venezuela, around 75% of the population believe that there is corruption in the government. The misuse of the law has served to increase the government’s power in sectors such as the judicial system, parliament and legislature, in which according to Transparency Interna...
In the beginning, Rafael Trujillo was a fruitful and beneficial leader to the country of the Dominican Republic. Trujillo reduced foreign debt and made the country more profitable, mainly because he was an excellent business man. However with this new prosperity, came the loss of the citizen's political liberties (1 “Rafael Trujillo”). Rafael Trujillo may have made the country more profitable, but he still was getting away with taking away innocent citizen’s political liberties.
People in both Venezuela and in Fahrenheit 451 are not allowed to speak out or go against the government without the government's harsh retaliation. Both of these instances show suppression of freedom of speech, but this theme is more strongly expressed by Maduro’s actions.
On July 14th, 17189, a shot was heard around the world: the Bastille had been stormed. Propelled by Enlightenment ideas, a rigid class system, and resentment with the monarchy, on this day the French decided to take matters in their own hands. In the next three years, the French overthrew their monarch and established a government and constitution that promised equal rights for all. As the saying goes, history repeats itself. So was the case in Latin America. By 1810, revolutionary fervor had spread to Venezuela. The revolution here was caused by similar reasons. As a colony of Spain, Venezuela did not have a representational government or equality for all its citizens. Peninsulares, or European-born Spaniards, held all the important governmental positions. Like the nobility in France, Peninsulares did not have to pay taxes. Their children (as long as they were also born in Europe), had many educational opportunities. Below the peninsulares were the creoles, or Venezuelans of Spanish descent. Creoles owned much of the land, but they were considered inferior to the peninsulares. Like the bourgeoisie in France, creoles had to pay high taxes and were subject to strict regulation. Creoles were disappointed in what they saw as social and political inequality, and desired to obtain self-representation in the government. At first hesitant, creoles declared their independence amid the weakening of the Spanish crown and the spread of the Enlightenment ideas. The Venezuelan Revolution was influenced by the French Revolution by the spread of Enlightenment ideas, social inequality, the discontent of creoles, and their desire to gain independence from France and form a new democratic government.
Simon Bolivar George Washington knew him. So did Napoleon Bonaparte. Hugo Chavez and many other South American presidents have referred to him. Francisco De Paula Santander was his political opponent. And Joseph Bonaparte, king of Spain, knew him as an enemy.
Since the 1970s, Venezuela has gone from being South America’s richest nation into a nouveau-poor society in search of an identity. Once known as the Saudis of the West, Venezuelans have seen their economic fortunes decline in exact proportion to the general fall in world oil prices. Even so, Venezuela’s many problems were hidden from view until relatively recently, when severity measures heralded the sort of economic crises so painfully familiar to other Latin American countries. Runaway inflation, currency devaluations and even food riots have marked this new phase in Venezuelan history, to which the country is still trying to adjust.
Glusing, Jens. "Venezuela President Maduro Faces Economic Distress and Protests." SPIEGEL ONLINE. Der Spiegel, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
... was not the best person on Earth, nor was he the worst person as portrayed in the news. The same type of repetition and emphasizing could have been done to portray Hugo Chavez as the greatest leader in the world. If Hugo Chavez actions and objectives were more publicize, then his representation in the media would not have been a evil dictator who is against the U.S, rather it would be man who wanted to help the poor and tried to find peace within nations. Stone states that “the changes that occurred in Venezuela reflect the true spirit of the country’s people. Venezuela was ranked 7.6 on a scale of 1 to 10, in the level of democracy. They placed their democracy higher than any other Latin American.” Stone, Scott, Boykoff, Sheehan, and Dwyer represent Hugo Chavez as a victim of media corruption, but a fighter for still succeeding while being targeted.
In Chavez’s article, he explicates that throughout history, violent revolutions have been more harmful for the poor and workers than beneficial. He employs this information in order to force the workers to cognize that violence should not be utilized because it will result in adverse outcomes. Chavez employs logic and history to allow his audience to understand that violence could become fatal for protesters. Chavez hopes to motivate his audience to condemn violent methods. He attempts to enlighten the workers about the futility of utilizing vehement methods as opposed to peaceful
From 1806 to 1826 most of the Latin countries under Spanish rule fought for their independence. The reason that caused these countries to have courage to fight for independence was because in 1808 Napoleon was able to invade and conquer Spain. Examples of those countries are Venezuela and Chile. There are similarities in the ways in which these two countries fought for their independence but there are also some differences in how they fought. Some of the leaders who were involved in the Venezuela’s fight for independence were Simon Bolivar, Francisco de Miranda and Antonio José de Sucre. The Venezuelan fight for independence against the Spanish empire began in 1811 and finally ended in 1823. The Venezuelan war was done in different phases, which began with Francisco de Miranda.
Food shortages, high inflation rates, protest, and violence: one sees these headlines in a Google search of Venezuela today. All around the country, there are long lines to buy simple necessities, like bread and milk. High inflation rates lead to shortages of food supplies, which increase frustration leading to protests in the streets and, sadly, an increase of violence. The protests and violence result from the inability of Venezuelans to provide the most basic human needs for their families. Sky-rocketing inflation rates in Venezuela are the result of Hugo Chavez, the former socialist and revolutionary leader of the country, and his administration. While in power, Chavez was so consumed with fixing the social issues in Venezuela, that other aspects of the country were ignored – like the economy. In 2014, Venezuela is left with a destroyed economy, angry people, and a government that is trying to fix the many issues the country currently faces; although the government is committed to finding solutions, the people of Venezuela do not feel the government is fixing the problems fast enough.
Throughout the fourteen years that remained in power Chávez followed strategy of introducing a socialist government in Venezuela in stages. According to Enrique Standish in the article titled “Venezuela Finally Turns Communist” it happened in four stages. The first stage consisted of obtaining t...
corruption and equal protection under the law for citizens regardless of wealth via legal and judicial
Some people said that corruption is rampant in all governments, So that it is not unknown to any ethnic group, region and continent. It cuts across faiths, political systems, religious Denominations and affects both young and old people. Fraud can be found in public and authoritarian rule;...
... to do. There have been unnecessary killings and beatings and now the country is trying out keep the rest of the world uneducated about the affair. The concern of the Venezuelan citizens is less of a concern. This shows "how people define security is defined by the historical and national conflict" (Smallman and Brown 36). Policies and intuitions on handling security are changing everyday.
In Spain there are many cases where politicians have charged illegal commissions in exchange for granting contracts, two large examples are “Gurtel case” and “three-percent scandal”. On both cases, politicians demanded a percentage in exchange for giving jobs or concessions. Another form of corruption present in Spain where this linkage is shown is the urban development with examples as “Operation Malaya”, where the perpetrators have been convicted of a multitude of illegal activities (bribery, embezzlement of public funds, breach of trust, influence peddling, etc.).