8406: Venezuelan university study reveals impoverished nation (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <maxblanchet@worldnet.att.net>

Venezuelan university study reveals impoverished nation
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Jun 21, 2001

Text of report in English by Venezuelan pro-government VENews web site on 20
June

Poverty has increased in Venezuela in the aftermath of the dissolution of
more than 40 years of corrupt presidential administrations, according to a
study undertaken by the Institute for Economic and Social Investigations at
the Andres Bello Catholic University (UCAB) in Caracas. Some 57.1 per cent
figures (84 per cent rural) show that over the last 30 years, Venezuela has
descended in status as one of the most impoverished in Latin America despite
great wealth in oil reserves and natural resources. Based on official
figures from the government's Central Statistics and Information Office
poverty is shown to have reached its most elevated level under the
presidency of Dr Rafael Caldera in 1995 with 66.7 per cent. "We have lived
through 20 years of recession and economic crises - if it were not for oil
revenues, Venezuela would be on the same level as Haiti just now!"

Source: VENews web site in English 20 Jun 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.