Tag Archives: public housing

Nov
18
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 11/18/11

In this week’s roundup…Hugo Chávez’s own crime legacy forces him to deploy thousands of troops into the streets of Caracas; MLB player rescued after being kidnapped from his mother’s house in Venezuela; Opposition candidates hold their first TV debate; Gunmen attack opposition candidate’s campaign bus; Los Roques is no longer a tourist attraction after Chávez takeover; One may own property in Venezuela, but it is Chávez who calls the shots.

 

Hugo Chavez deploys thousands to troops to help police curb widespread crime in Venezuela, The Associated Press via the Washington Post

President Hugo Chavez ordered thousands of National Guard soldiers into the streets of Venezuela’s capital and surrounding states Thursday, urging them to help outgunned police curb widespread violent crime.

Not-so-sweet home, The Economist

On November 9th a small group of armed men drove up to Mr Ramos’s modest family home in Valencia, arguably Venezuela’s baseball capital, which sits 150km west of Caracas.

Time for Washington to take the Venezuelan opposition seriously, Foreign Policy

Monday night in Caracas, opposition candidates to President Hugo Chávez held their first debate to decide who will challenge him in the scheduled October 2012 Venezuelan presidential election. In a sign of their continuing political maturation, the candidates rightly addressed bread-and-butter issues that matter to the vast majority of Venezuelans, such as the country’s skyrocketing crime rate and Chávez’s poor management of the Venezuelan economy.

Shots fired at Venezuelan candidate’s bus, CNN International

A couple on a motorcycle fired shots into a bus carrying Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado and her supporters Saturday, a campaign spokesman told CNN en Español.

Lights Out in Los Roques: Venezuela Beach Paradise Now Under Military Control Faces Hardships, Latin American Herald Tribune

Los Roques, a series of Caribbean island beach paradises recently put by Venezuela President Hugo Chavez under military control, is facing a series of new hardships, including a blackout that has lasted since Sunday, local press reported.

Venezuela Forces Sale of Rental Properties, The Wall Street Journal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez signed a new rental law into effect over the weekend that obliges landlords to sell their property to tenants of more than 20 years at state-mandated discounts based on how long the space has been rented. Mr. Chávez hailed the law as a way of opening housing to the country’s poor and extending tenants’ rights, but critics see the law as a political ploy to compensate for a struggling state home-building initiative.

 
Jun
10
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 6/10/11

In this week’s roundup…Venezuelan opposition leaders react to President Hugo Chávez’s successful bid in raising the national debt limit, more fallout from the U.S.-imposed sanctions on PDVSA, opposition candidates get momentum, and the housing crisis continues to be top of mind for Venezuelans.

 

Venezuelan lawmakers authorize $22.5B in new debt, Associated Press

President Hugo Chavez won approval from legislators Thursday to increase the amount of new debt Venezuela’s government can take on this year to more than $22.5 billion. In December, lawmakers had authorized the equivalent of $12 billion in new debt this year. But Chavez last week requested that the limit be raised about 86 percent. Opposition lawmakers criticized the change, expressing concerns about the government’s growing debt. They said the boost was unjustified at a time when the OPEC member is enjoying higher prices for its oil.

 

Venezuela’s foreign minister says relations with Washington are ‘frozen’ following sanctions , The Washington Post

Venezuela’s relations with the U.S. are frozen and President Hugo Chavez’s government sees no possibility of improving them after its state oil company was hit with sanctions by Washington, the country’s top diplomat said Sunday.

The US Has Lost Sight Of Its National Interest In Venezuela, Business Insider

According to the U.S. Energy Administration, two months ago the United States total crude oil imports averaged 9,033 thousand barrels per day (tbpd), with the top five exporting countries being Canada (2,666 tbpd), Mexico (1,319 tbpd), Saudi Arabia (1,107 tbpd), Venezuela (930 tbpd) and Nigeria (918 tbpd.) Notice anything odd about this list?

Chávez Foe Sees Imitation as Best Path, Bloomberg

Henrique Capriles Radonski, whose family members own Venezuela’s biggest movie theater chain, is emerging as President Hugo Chavez’s strongest rival in 2012 elections by copying his favorite ploy of lavishing public money on the poor.

Venezuela’s Chávez says OPEC need not pump more oil, Reuters Africa

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday said current demand for oil does not justify an OPEC production hike, adding the market was well-supplied. The oil exporters group meets on Wednesday and Gulf Arab members are pushing for an output increase of at least 1.4 million barrels per day.

 

FACTBOX-Housing among top worries for Venezuelans, Reuters

Venezuela’s housing shortage is a challenge for President Hugo Chavez, a major concern for millions in the South American OPEC member, and one of the issues that could shape next year’s election. With 29 million people, Venezuela is short of 2 million housing units.

 
Jun
3
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 6/3/11

In this week’s roundup…The housing crisis is the top of mind issue for Venezuelans, as the country copes with soaring inflation and rising debt. Meanwhile, the oil sanctions debate rages on as President Hugo Chávez jokes about his government’s ties to Iran.

 

FACTBOX-Housing among top worries for Venezuelans, Reuters

Venezuela’s housing shortage is a challenge for President Hugo Chavez, a major concern for millions in the South American OPEC member, and one of the issues that could shape next year’s election. With 29 million people, Venezuela is short of 2 million housing units. Chavez blames past capitalist governments and local businesses for putting profit motives before the needs of society at large.

Chavez to Request $10.5 Billion in Debt Under New Venezuela Law, Bloomberg

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he will send a request to the National Assembly today to issue up to 45 billion bolivars ($10.5 billion) in new bonds this year as part of a special debt law. Of the total, 20 billion bolivars would help pay for 153,000 homes as part of a housing drive, 10 billion bolivars would go to a new job creation program, 10 billion to cover public debt and 5 billion to respond to heavy rains that have damaged homes and infrastructure, Chavez said.

 

Venezuelans struggle to cope with soaring food prices, inflation tops Latin America, The Washington Post

Soaring food prices are forcing many Venezuelans to change their eating habits, trim their shopping lists and set aside more of their earnings to feed their families. The oil-exporting country is coping with one of the highest inflation rates in the world: 22.9 percent as of last month, and food prices are rising even faster. “It’s gotten 100 percent worse,” said Evelyn Villamizar, a 29-year-old student who is raising a 5-year-old son in a poor barrio of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. She said she feels “strangled by the prices.”

Hugo Chavez in the U.S. Crosshairs, Foreign Policy

Finally, Hugo Chavez is being held accountable for his reckless efforts to aid and abet Iran’s illegal pursuit of a nuclear capability and evasion of international sanctions. This week, the Obama administration announced it was imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and the Venezuelan Military Industries Company CAVIM for their illicit dealings with Iran.

US Oil Sanctions Against Venezuela May End Up Helping Chavez, The Wall Street Journal

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela’s state oil company may benefit rather than hurt President Hugo Chavez’s government by providing fuel for anti-U.S. rhetoric as the leftist leader rallies supporters ahead of next year’s presidential elections. Slamming Washington is a timeworn strategy for winning votes in many parts of Latin America, and it could provide a boost to the re-election bid by Chavez, who in his 12 years in power has become the region’s loudest U.S. critic. “Chavez is using [the sanctions] as a weapon to consolidate his base, to put the opposition in an uncomfortable situation and to rally support for his election campaign,” said Anibal Romero, a Caracas-based retired professor of political science. While analysts don’t expect the recent sanctions to have much effect on Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PdVSA, as the state oil company is known, the reaction from the Chavez government has generated unease among holders of Venezuelan debt, weighing on bonds trading in New York in recent days.

 

 

Chavez condemns US sanctions, jokes about missiles, Associated Press

President Hugo Chavez mocked U.S. concerns about Venezuela’s ties with Iran on Tuesday, joking that while his adversaries worry about Iranian-made missiles lining his country’s coast his government is actually erecting windmills there. The socialist leader at first said missiles could be launched at Washington and other U.S. cities, then held up a photograph of windmills along the South American country’s coast, saying “here they are.”