MAR 29 A QUICK PRIMER ON VENEZUELA

MAR 29 A QUICK PRIMER ON VENEZUELA

It's hard to ignore all the horrible stories coming out of Venezuela these days. Hospitals without power. Stores without food. Hyper-inflation at 1,300,000%. (How is that even possible?) While many developing nations experience similar crises, Venezuela deserves special attention. Since geography is extinct in US public schools, here's a quick primer on why this is such a unique nation.

THE NAME. Columbus was the first European to see this stunning land, way back in 1498. He was astonished with the size of the fresh-water Orinoco River and called it a "Terrestrial Paradise." The next year, famed navigator Amerigo Vespucci sailed along the coast. The stilt-homes of the Carib people, perched high above the water, reminded the Italian of Venice...a little bit. So he named it 'Veneziola' or 'Little Venice.'

THE NATION. For centuries, Caracas...along with Cartagena...became one of Spain's most important port cities. Hence, it was the location of a pivotal battle for Venezuelan independence. Dashing revolutionary Simon Bolivar outwitted the Castilian navy in 1821. Venezuela joined Mexico as the second Latin American nation to be recognized by Spain. Here's the story behind the flag, according to Wikipedia: "Yellow is for land wealth, blue is for the ocean that separates Venezuela from Spain, and red is for the blood shed by the heroes of independence." 

THE OIL. For the nation's first 100 years, Venezuela floundered. It was plagued by a sadly common cycle: Violent dictators, corrupt presidents, rigged elections. Then everything suddenly changed. The Great War demonstrated just how thirsty the world was for petroleum. Fortunately for Venezuela, there is tons of black gold under Lake Maracaibo. By 1935, the nation boasted the highest GDP in Latin America. Caracas became a Caribbean jewel.

THE SOCIALISTS. In 1960, Venezuela joined the newly founded OPEC. It proved to be genius. Wars in the Mideast set oil prices soaring. Unsurprisingly, little of the petroleum profits made it to the average citizen. In 1998, populist Hugo Chavez was elected and proclaimed a 'Bolivarian Revolution.' While the poor were helped greatly at first, the Socialist movement fizzled out in the new millennium. Rampant corruption runs the nation, not people-oriented programs. Today, Venezuela is a Socialist nation by name only.

THE FUTURE. Venezuela has fallen to 62nd place on the worldwide GDP index, behind most other South American nations. On the 'Quality of Life' index, it ranks in the bottom ten. However, there is one special chart where Venezuela is #1: The list of nations with proven petroleum reserves. Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran and Iraq round out the top five. But while Saudi oil will run out in 50 short years, Venezuela's fields won't dry up until the year 2382. That's a pretty rosy future indeed!

We here at the DUNER BLOG hope Venezuela can break the cycle and discover a new government that can more equally share the nation's proven future wealth. Christopher Columbus was right: Venezuela is a natural paradise. For example: It's home to world's tallest waterfall. Angel Falls was featured in the Pixar movie 'Up,'