Corruption in Venezuela

Corruption in Venezuela

The objective of this study is to examine corruption in Venezuela from 1990 until the present. The work of Gates (2009) states that little doubt exists that corruption "is and has been an endemic problem in Venezuela. For several decades (from 1959 until around 1979) Venezuelans tended to view corruption as a nuisance. Yet by the 1990s, corruption had become the scourge of Venezuela's otherwise internationally admired democracy." (2009, p.1)

The Link Between Oil and Corruption

The link existing between oil and corruption in Venezuela is reported in the work of Gates (2009) to be one that is little disputed. In the 1990's when Venezuelan corruption became widely acknowledged the effect was the erosion of the two-party democracy public support and boost in the public support for a new kind of political leader as well as a new type of politics. (Gates, 2009, paraphrased) In the 1990s the political culture of Venezuela experienced a shift and the tolerance of corruption lessened with political leaders stating that intended to "ride the country, not just of corruption, but of the two-party political system all together…" (Gates, 2009, p.3) Hugo Chavez, a political outsider was elected as president in the 1990s and the Venezuelans are reported to have "abandoned the two traditional parties in favor of a critic of Venezuela's political establishment and its association with corruption and neo-liberalism." (Gates, 2009, p.3-4)

II. Mass Exodus in Venezuela

In the late 1990s, it is reported that Venezuela had a "massive exodus. Prior to then, in contrast to most other Latin American and Caribbean countries, Venezuela had not experienced any substantial emigration. Beginning in the second half of the 1990s, an unprecedented proportion of the middle class sought refuge abroad from a crime rate that had doubled since 1990, making Venezuela the world's sixth most violent country and with an economic despair so deep that it swallowed even the huge financial windfall generated by high oil prices." (Niam, 2001, p.1)

III. Globalization

Venezuela is reported in the work of Niam (2001) to be a victim of globalization. Niam states that is globalization "…is defined by the number, variety and intensity of the links that country has with the rest of the world, then in the 199's the globalization of Venezuela's economy and society was neither rapid nor intense" but instead globalization of the Venezuelan economy was slower that globalization in other large Latin American countries and slower than even the smaller Latin American countries including the Dominican Republic and Chile. (Niam, 2001, p.1) The multinational corporations closed in Venezuela in large numbers and many are reported to have shrunken their subsidiaries in Venezuela and as well new foreign investment in sectors and energy was "very limited and the number of foreign tourists" fell during the latter part of the 1990s. (Niam, 2001, p.1)

III. The Present