Michael McCaughan The Battle Of Venezuela

Annotation

About 90 percent of Venezuela's people are poor, and that number is likely to rise as its middle class continues to disappear. Venezuela is also the third largest oil importer to the US. These two startling bits of data frame the career of Hugo Chavez, the nation's first indigenous head of state, who came to power by coup but stayed put through referenda, elections, and a highly suspicious but failed revolt. Seasoned journalist McCaughan builds on his interviews with Chavez, government officials and ordinary people to show how deeply divided the country is, in spite of or perhaps because of efforts by the Chavez camp to create social programs for the poor, and the ceaseless presence of the US need for fossil fuel. McCaughan shows how the difficulties for Chavez mirror difficulties for the region and the world as the US seeks to meet its needs for oil.