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Editorial Commentary
Newsweek:
Clouds over the state Hugo built
Nine years ago Hugo Chávez became President of Venezuela, inspiring his countrymen with a message of hope. Incomes rose. Hospitals and schools were set up in the barrios. Now progress is giving way to a "Disneyland economy where nothing makes sense," says photographer Christopher Anderson. His pictures—taken since 2004—capture the chaotic mood of Chávez's "21st-century socialism." Oil money flows freely, but triple-digit inflation yields milk shortages. Caracas is more dangerous; morgues reportedly struggle to keep pace with casualties of barrio violence. A young middle class despairs that Venezuela is becoming a new Cuba. Yet in December voters rejected a constitutional reform that would allow Chávez to stay in power indefinitely. "That night," says Anderson, "the black cloud" of despair felt by many "just evaporated." But Chávez remains.
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Petroleumworld News 01/09/08
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