The Role of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela
Introduction
Venezuela is a late bloomer in regard to having complete independence and in terms of running its own democratic government. Right now, the Venezuelan people are in the midst of the same debate that has historically plagued countries all over the world; the country is torn between class lines and is another classic example of the haves versus the have-nots. Caracas is the capital and the Andes region is home to two-thirds of the population. Mestizos make up 67% of the population, with 21% descending from white Europeans (primarily Spanish and Portuguese), blacks are 10%, and Amerinds are 2%. Unfortunately, the middle class has declined by as much as 25% since the mid-1980s and roughly one million people have slipped into the lower middle class or poverty (Venezuela Background). Under the stresses of economic decay, government corruption, and increasing poverty, the government structure has struggled through an increased number of political party groups, increased military involvement, and a high turnover rate of political leaders.
The country's leadership has stemmed from Spanish descendants and those of the ruling class since Venezuela broke away from Spain and became an independent nation in 1830. For the majority of Venezuela's history, the government has been under the control of the upper and middle class citizens. However, for the first time in its history, Venezuela is under the leadership of a president, Hugo Chavez, who is in favor of immense social reform for the poor. The current state of Venezuela is bitterly divided in an all-out class war, where most of Chavez's support comes from the poor and the opposition’s support comes from the mid...
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...a 183). Having the country in mayhem would serve the U.S. interest of gaining control of Venezuela’s oil market because foreign investors would no longer be a threat. It is unfortunate that the mass media, which serves as the primary means of providing accurate information, has become a political party and somewhat of a force in Venezuela. As a result, the openly biased media has been held responsible for adding to the politicized atmosphere and has been sanctioned by the Chavez government. Still, with all the forces working against him, Chavez has the power to bring Venezuela together. His background and charismatic leadership have won the hearts of the masses, but he must broaden his focus to incorporate fair policies and to create a dialogue with the business community in order to develop Venezuela into both an economically and politically healthy country.
The Americans were losing patience over the whole Cuban affair because Spain cut shipping and economic interests from Cuba. Americans wanted the economic situation resolved so they could get back to the economic fortunes they were used to; therefore, the worsening economy was one of the main causes of the War of 1898. When the United States finally denounced the dominance of the Spanish government in Cuba, Spain cut its economic ties with the United States. Trade for the United States was impacted greatly. Due to the sharp drop of sugar prices that took place from early 1884, the old Cuban “sugar nobility,” unable to mechanize and cut costs, began to disintegrate and lose its dominant role in the island’s economy and society (Hernandez). This facilitated the United States’ penetration of the Cuban economy, and the United States took over sugar estates and mining interests. It was American machinery, technicians, and capital that helped save the Cuban sugar mills.
Saldívar, Toni. "The Art of John Updike's 'A & P'." Studies in Short Fiction 34.2 (Spring 1997):
Updike, John. "A & P." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 2nd Edition. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1990. 407-411.
Hugo Chavez was the president of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013. He had an interesting way of running the country during his presidency. His political position or ideology could be best defined as Bolivarianism for many reasons. Bolivarianism can be described as a set of doctrines that was popular in South America. It is named after the famous liberator Simon Bolivar. Hugo Chavez’s ideology involved ideas from others he had come to admire. Of course one of those that he admired was Simon Bolivar. The ideas for his ideology all began at a young age when he fell in love with history (Jones 23). During this age Hugo Chavez would often times read about a general named Ezequiel Zamora whom his great great grandfather had served (Marcano, Tyszka 11). Ezequiel Zamora will become a major influence in his ideology later on in his life. Besides Zamora, Chavez would also read about many other theorists. Hugo Chavez not only lived in poverty but also witnessed how bad the poverty around him was (Jones 25-26). Chavez did not like this poverty and wanted to change that any way he could. As he grew up he continued reading about the different theorists and ideologies that they made up (Jones 40). So since a young age Chavez had always been a leftist. As mentioned earlier it continued throughout his life and it intensified during his days at the military academy (Wilpert 07) Eventually Chavez became the president and his political position progressed further left (Wilpert 07). In other words he rejected both far left ideologies such as communism or Marxism-Leninism and moderate ideologies such as social democracy or the third way. However Chavez was aware of these different ideologies but did not consider being part of it. Hugo Chavez instead began t...
Jules Boykoff published an analysis paper on how Hugo Chavez was represented on the United States media, in his article “Hugo Chavez and the U.S media”. He states the Hugo Chavez was represent in four different frames. A frame is a “persistent pattern of selection and emphasis that structure not only what becomes news, but also prime us for how we think about the news”(Boykoff). He found out that the US prestige press, which includes the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, “adopted four dominant frames: the Dictator Frame, the Castro Disciple Frame, the Declining Economy Frame, and the Meddler-in-the-Region Frame.” These frames were aimed at Hugo Chavez, to give him a negative media representation in America, especially during the Bush administration.
In, “A&P,” Updike depicts an unusual day for Sammy working in the A&P store. Sammy’s days are usually mundane but his day is changed when a group of scantily dressed girls walk into the store and they leave an everlasting influence on his life. Updike’s demonstrates these events through colloquial language and symbolism, allowing the reader to connect with Sammy and see his growth as a character.
Sammy’s immature behavior is predominant throughout the short story in multiple occasions. He is judgmental
By them going against their gender roles and being inappropriately dressed in A & P, they also create the possibility for tragedy to occur. The manager of A & P, Lengel, an old Sunday school teacher embodies what is expected to be the male gender role of that time when he publically chastises the girls for being dressed in that manner in the store. Despite the girls’ attempts to justify their actions of being dressed in this manner by saying that they only came in to buy one thing, Lengel maintains his masculine gender role of keeping women in line. Lengel states quite matter-of-factly, “We want you decently dressed when you come in here.” (Updike 234). It is at this moment that Queenie pushes the envelope even further in going against her gender roles, by answering back Lengel. Queenie’s response of “We are decent,” (Updike 234) shows her somewhat rebellious and disrespectful nature, and her disregard for Lengel’s patriarchal authority. She instead would have been expected in this scenario to possibly apologize to Lengel and leave the store with her friends since he was not only male but senior to her thus demanding her
Updike, John. "A & P." Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 6th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002.
Updlike, John. "A&P." Literature. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education (US), 2012. 17-21. Print
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare developed the story of prince Hamlet, and the murder of his father by the king's brother, Claudius. Hamlet reacted to this event with an internal battle that harmed everyone around him. Ophelia was the character most greatly impacted by Hamlet's feigned and real madness - she first lost her father, her sanity, and then her life. Ophelia, obedient, weak-willed, and no feminist role model, deserves the most pity of any character in the play.
The story of Hamlet is a morbid tale of tragedy, commitment, and manipulation; this is especially evident within the character of Ophelia. Throughout the play, Ophelia is torn between obeying and following the different commitments that she has to men in her life. She is constantly torn between the choice of obeying the decisions and wishes of her family or that of Hamlet. She is a constant subject of manipulation and brain washing from both her father and brother. Ophelia is not only subject to the torture of others using her for their intentions but she is also susceptible to abuse from Hamlet. Both her father and her brother believe that Hamlet is using her to achieve his own personal goals.
Hugo Chavez was a powerful and positive force in addressing social issues, however, his singular focus on social issues at the expense of other matters of the country left the Venezuelan economy in tatters. In 1998, 50.4% of the Venezuelan population was living below the poverty line, where as in 2006 the numbers dropped to 36.3% (Chavez leaves). Although he aggressively confronted the issue of poverty in Venezuela, many other problems were worsened. Some Chavez critics say he used the state oil company like a piggy bank for projects: funding homes, and healthcare while neglecting oil infrastructure and production. Without growth in the oil ind...
David Frum, CNN contributor and also editor at The Daily Beast. He is the author of eight books, including a new novel, "Patriots," and a post-election e-book, "Why Romney Lost." Frum was a special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002. The author in the article “Will Venezuela abandon Chavismo?” considerate the possibility of a changed in actual politics in Venezuela. He relate his own experiences, when he visited Venezuela in 2010, everybody was talking about elite Cuban paramilitary police units that Chavez had supposedly borrowed from Fidel Castro. But change is coming to Cuba too, and if the units ever existed, they certainly have not been visible in the past's week’s clashes. This article offers a good comparison between other countries situation and Venezuela.
Updike, John. “A&P.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 409-414. Print.