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Hugo Chavez: The Economic Crisis In Venezuela

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Located on the northern coast of South America, Venezuela covers 353,800 square miles and has a population of approximately 29,000,000 people. Its biological diversity is greater than any other country in the world. Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 and declared its independence in 1811. Democratic government won the popularity of the people in 1958. Hugo Chaves was elected president in 1998 and began the Bolivian Revolution. After the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013, the people elected Nicolas Maduro president. Because oil is the main resource and export of Venezuela, fluctuations in the oil market have caused great economic crisis. In 1995, the poverty rate reached 66%, and the inflation rate reached 100% the following …show more content…
Archeologists found hunting implements, plano-convex scraping instruments and spear tips in northwestern Venezuela in a region known as El Jobo. Radiocarbon dating places the origin of these artifacts from 13,000 to 7,000 BC. As many as one million people inhabited Venezuela before the Spanish conquest. The Kalina, Auake, Caquetio, Mariche and Timoto-cuicas tribes, plus the current indigenous people, made up the population. The conquest greatly reduced the number of indigenous inhabitants. The Europeans introduced diseases to the indigenous people for which they had no …show more content…
Venezuela consists of four geographical regions, including lowlands in the west, mountains to the north, plains in the center of the country, and highlands in the south. The highest point of the Andes Mountains, Pico Bolivar in northern Venezuela, is over 16,000 feet in elevation. The Amazon Basin to the south contains the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls. The Llanos plains dominate the center of the country, stretching from the western Columbian border to the Orinoco river basin to the east. Brazil, Colombia and Guyana all share borders with Venezuela. The economy relies heavily on the most prevalent natural resources; oil, iron, gold and natural gas. Venezuela is located directly on the equator and has four climates, due to changes in elevation. In elevations below 2600 feet, the climate is tropical, with the average temperature around 80 degrees. Between 2500 and 6500 feet of elevation lies the temperate zone where most of the larger cities are located, with temperatures averaging between 53 and 77 degrees. At altitudes between 6000 and 10,000 feet, the temperatures are much cooler, ranging from 48 to 51 degrees, resulting in

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