June 19, 2013
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Article Photos: Chavez's record: an oil bonanza squandered?
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ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, SEPT. 23, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - In this Sept. 4, 2012 photo, people walk across a pedestrian bridge in front of the San Agustin slum of Caracas, Venezuela. Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country. The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen. Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
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