Venezuela
MURDER, VIOLENCE, CRIME! This seems
to be all we hear about from the Republic of Venezuela. This country is
beautiful, but it gets a bad rap due to several factors. The violence that takes place within the
country and the misperception that Hugo Chavez is a dictator deter people from
going there. The world’s views on Venezuela are distorted and not accurate,
which in turn, hurts the country itself. Many people think that Venezuela
doesn’t have much to offer for the rest of the world. Well in no way is this
true so these misconceptions need to be set straight.
A huge
reason that people don’t come to Venezuela is because of the country’s high
crime rate. It has a high number of homicides and also has an extreme number of
kidnappings each day. From July 2008 to July 2010 there were a total of 16,917
kidnappings, which is about 23 each day.
As for deaths due to these crimes, in 2009, Iraq recorded 4,644 murders.
In Venezuela for the same year the body count reached over 16,000 murders. This
country is very dangerous. For example, Major League Baseball player WilsonRamos was kidnapped in Venezuela this past November. Ramos is from Venezuela
and was visiting his family when he was forced into a van at gunpoint.
Fortunately, the baseball player was rescued alive and well.
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Now I can understand why these numbers would concern you, but there is a way to reduce your risk of getting into a dangerous situation and that is to be smart. The majority of all of the crimes committed in Venezuela take place in the bad parts of this country. Every country has bad parts where crime is an issue. It is just like any part of the world. Here in Chicago there is plenty of crime in the bad parts of the city and people try to stay away from the malicious atmosphere. You just have to be cautious and stay away from the bad parts of Venezuela because, like Chicago, this is an outstanding place that should belong on your travel itinerary.
To go with
the fear of the country for its crime many people are also afraid of the
president Hugo Chavez. People believe
that Chavez is a dictator because he has been president for many terms. Well
this is not at all true. In Venezuela there is no limitation as to how many
terms someone can serve as president. There have been many elections and Chavez
and his party have won every single one. The Organization of American States,
European Union, and Carter Center have considered all of these elections free
and fair. So Hugo Chavez is not a dictator at all. He has been a very good
president for the country of Venezuela.
Under
Chavez the country of Venezuela has greatly prospered. The president has really
focused on the education of his country. He has had the government give out
nearly 2 million laptops to schools to increase computer literacy. This is not
the only region that Chavez has helped out either. The health and economic
development have benefitted greatly under the president. Unemployment and
poverty have both significantly dropped along with the infant mortality rates.
Chavez has done so much for this country, but he is still viewed as a dictator.
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Another
misconception of Venezuela is about its economy. Many people believe that due
to the country’s tropical climate and coastline it is a just a huge fishing
industry and that’s it. Well fishing does play a significant part in the economy,
but not the biggest part. Venezuela is a
huge exporter of oil, natural gases, and petrochemicals. In fact, oil is a very
big reason for the country’s prosperity. In fact, it is the one supporter of
Venezuela’s economy. The oil industry brings in almost 80 percent of the export
revenue, near half of the central government’s income, and about one-third of
the country’s gross domestic product. The oil industry does not just help the
Venezuelan economy. It is the Venezuelan economy.
With oil
being such a huge part of the economy many of the other industries in
Venezuela’s economy are overlooked. Petroleum has risen respectively in the
last years to become now one of Venezuela’s top industries. The timber industry is doing very well too
because 34 percent of the country is covered in trees. Coffee is another
significant export. In the 1830s coffee was the biggest export for the country,
but now that role has been filled by oil and petroleum.
One of the
more bothersome misconceptions of this country is that it has barely anything
to offer to the rest of the world. There could not be any statement farther
from the truth than that one. First of all, Venezuela has done wonders for the
professional sports around the world. The Major League Baseball Associationhere in the United States has many native Venezuelan players. Some of these
include Elvis Andrus, Asdrubal Cabrera, Miguel Cabrera, and Chicago’s own Ozzie Guillen. Venezuelan athletes are
all over not just United States sports, but world sports.
Venezuelan
contribution to the world does not stop at just sports. The United States
import many items from the country.
Venezuela exports billions of dollars worth of oil and petroleum to not
just the United States, but to the whole world since it is one of the leading
exporters of these goods. This is not all though, Venezuela also exports
millions of dollars worth of coal, fuels, fertilizers, pesticides,
insecticides, etc. The list just keeps on going. Venezuela has more than enough
to offer to the world.
The country
of Venezuela is truly a remarkable place and definitely does not deserve the
reputation that it has, but there is only one thing we can do about it. That is
to take time and learn about this country so that are views on it are accurate
and not all based on media. This country is a vital part of our world and
should start getting treated like it.
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Works
Cited
JAMES, MICHAEL S., KEVIN DOLAK,
and CHRISTINA CARON. "Kidnapped Baseball Player Wilson Ramos Rescued --
Alive and Well in Venezuela." ABC News. ABC News Network, 11 Nov.
2011. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/International/missing-baseball-player-wilson-ramos-found-alive/story?id=14930280>.
"Major League Baseball
Players Born in Venezuela." Baseball Almanac. 2012. Web. 06 May
2012. <http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Venezuela>.
Otis, John. "Has Hugo Chavez
Really Helped the Poor in Venezuela | PRI's The World." The PRI's World.
Medtronic Foundation, 5 July 2011. Web. 06 May 2012.
<http://www.theworld.org/2011/07/has-hugo-chavez-really-helped-venezuelas-poor/>.
Reporting., SIMON ROMERO; María
Eugenia Díaz Contributed. "The New York Times." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 23 Aug. 2010. Web. 06 May 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/americas/23venez.html?pagewanted=all>.
"South of the Border - a Film
by Oliver Stone." Media Misperceptions – Venezuela – The Spin vs. The Truth «. Web. 06 May 2012.
<http://southoftheborderdoc.com/spin-vs-the-truth/>.
"Venezuela-Industry."
Encyclopedia of the Nations. 2012. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Venezuela-INDUSTRY.html>.
2. Venezuela Caribbean Coast. Digital image. Journey Latin America. Web. 7 May 2012. <http://www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk/Holiday-Types/Tailor-Made/Holiday-List/Venezuela/Beach-Holidays-in-Venezuela.aspx>.
Images
3. Venezuela Beautiful Landscape. Digital image. Best Tourism. 9 Sept. 2010. Web. 7 May 2012. <http://www.bestourism.com/bests/bestimages?tag=-Venezuela>.
2. Venezuela Caribbean Coast. Digital image. Journey Latin America. Web. 7 May 2012. <http://www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk/Holiday-Types/Tailor-Made/Holiday-List/Venezuela/Beach-Holidays-in-Venezuela.aspx>.
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