CARACAS, Tuesday September 23, 2008 | Update
Politics
"We had a positive agenda in Venezuela; we were trying to
have a better relationship and seeking to identify areas
of mutual cooperation, as the fight against drug trafficking,"
with these words the former US ambassador to Venezuela Patrick
Duddy told the US TV network Univisión that his work
in Venezuela was not linked to any destabilization plan.
Duddy said that, in his view, the decision of President Hugo
Chávez to expel him from Venezuela and cool the relations
between the two countries has no basis.
Besides the political issues, Duddy talked about economic
topics, especially the production and trading of oil between
Venezuela and the United States. Duddy said: "oil is traded
through an international market (...) We still buy crude oil
from Venezuela; in fact, more than half of Venezuela's production.
The disruption of supply would damage the Venezuelan economy,
much more than the US economy."
He said that any impulsive decision based on fiction "will
not benefit the Venezuelan people." Duddy said he was sure
that the United States is trying to improve its relationship
with Venezuela. The idea that we were trying to overthrow
Chávez's government is unfounded and false."
11:00 AM. Economy. Based on the official data, more and more families failed to get out of poverty in 2008; the exclusion status of more people moved faster and fewer people are on their way to overcome this situation. According to the data provided by the official National Statistics Institute (INE), last year the poorest homes in the country recorded an average monthly income of USD 401.82, whereas the food basket amounted to 417.77