Despite having some of the world’s largest energy reserves, Venezuela is increasingly struggling to maintain basic electrical service, a growing challenge for leftist President Hugo Chavez.
The OPEC nation has suffered three nationwide blackouts this year, and chronic power shortages have sparked protests from the western Andean highlands to San Felix, a city of mostly poor industrial workers in the sweltering south.
Shoddy electrical service is now one of Venezuelans’ top concerns, according to a recent poll, and may be a factor in elections next month for governors and mayors in which Chavez allies are expected to lose key posts, in part on complaints of poor services.
The problem suggests that Chavez, with his ambitious international alliances and promises to end capitalism, risks alienating supporters by failing to focus on basic issues like electricity, trash collection and law enforcement.
U.S. actor Sean Penn is visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ” again.
Chavez has praised Penn for his criticism of the U.S. war in Iraq, but he did not mention Penn’s visit during a televised address. Nor did state media broadcast images of the Oscar-winning actor.
Maybe they didn’t want to waste what little electricity they had.
Ed has much more
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