Will Venezuela's murder rate hurt Chávez? Dec 3, 2008
Hands up: Police searched suspects during a recent patrol in the hillside slum of Petare in Caracas, Venezuela ... Caracas, Venezuela - It's Friday night in Petare, a hillside slum in Venezuela's crime-ridden capital, Caracas ... It's a slice of "barrio" life in all its intensity, and even joy, but Oscar Arenas, a police officer who patrols Petare, says visitors should not be deceived. (Christian Science Monitor)
Venezuela hands Chávez some crucial defeats Nov 25, 2008
"I am tired of Chvez treating the entire country as if it were his military barracks," said Heriberto Gonzlez, 65, a carpenter, after he voted in Petare, a sprawling patchwork of slums here. Gonzlez said he voted for a slate of opposition candidates opposing Chvez, including Carlos Ocariz, who won Sucre, which includes Petare ... Miroslava Toro, 35, a resident of Petare, said: "We have problems in Venezuela, but I am certain the return of the oligarchy would make them worse. I know in my... (International Herald Tribune)
Chavez hails party's victories in key local test Nov 24, 2008
In the capital's vast Petare slum, Maria Teresa Padron, 80, said she had voted for a candidate from Chavez's party to show her support for the president. "God sent us Chavez. No one will give us the well-being this president offers us. No one took us into account before, but thanks to him, I live well now," Padron said. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Thinking local Nov 23, 2008
It is a strategy that may well make the difference between victory and defeat for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in marginal municipalities such as Petare in Caracas. President Chavez has also been cranking up the rhetoric. (BBC News)
Latin lessons Nov 20, 2008
" Although the Venezuelan government disputes the exact figures Caracas is widely recognised as one of the most dangerous cities in Latin America with one of the highest murder rates in the region. The barrios (poor neighbourhoods) in which the teachers were working, such as Petare, 23 de Enero, La Vega and el Junquito, are some of the worst affected. "It's a common problem between Britain and Venezuela and in fact our Venezuelan colleagues were surprised to hear the extent of the problem in the... (BBC News -- Americas)
U.S. election provoking interest in Latin America Oct 24, 2008
Galixta Isturiz, an unemployed resident of the Caracas slum Petare, couldn't identify Sen ... "He seems sincere and well-prepared." Isturiz lives in a Caracas slum known as Petare that frequently suffers from water shortages and electric blackouts. (Anchorage Daily News)
Chávez support slips in Venezuela Mar 7, 2008
Suffering: Residents gathered in the poor Petare area of Venezuela's capital, Caracas, on Dec. 1, 2007, the day before a failed referendum to scrap presidential term limits ... Caracas, Venezuela - Petare is a sprawling hillside barrio in Caracas, and poor neighborhoods like this have long been epicenters of support for Venezuela's President Hugo Chvez ... Petare and other neighborhoods like it are still very much Chvez territory, but signs of his waning support in those areas highlights a... (Christian Science Monitor)
Warfare: Where War Deaths Are Worst Jan 5, 2008
Cuban doctors sent for propaganda purposes to help the poor often flee for their safety, leaving boarded up "free" health care kiosks in Caracas slums like Petare and Catia. Even low-level Chavista political operatives in red T-shirts fear the rampant violence and crime of the slums. (Investors Business Daily)
'NOT FINISHED'.. Dec 6, 2007
Reports Tuesday showed that in Petare one of the most densely populated slums in Latin America and normally a stronghold for Chvez the "No" option won 62 percent while only 38 percent backed the constitutional reform. "Chvez needs to reflect upon the proposal and his close collaborators. There must be a new sensibility when new changes are proposed, because any decision he attempts to make by force could cause serious consequences," says Carlos Luna, a political analyst and professor... (The Drudge Report)
For Chávez, reflection and anger after defeat Dec 6, 2007
Dissent among Chavistas, as the president's supporters here call themselves, and former Chavistas can now be heard on the floor of the National Assembly, after the release of voting tallies that showed that the proposals had lost in Petare, La Vega and Caricuao, sprawling slums in this city that were pro-Chvez bastions a year ago. Losing such support in such emblematic strongholds has been a shocking revelation for Chavismo, a movement that has long been centered on the president himself and... (International Herald Tribune)
Celebrations as voters stall Chvez revolution Dec 4, 2007
"I like my president," said Ricardo Pena, 42, a stallholder in Petare. "I've always voted for him. But this time ..." His voice trailed off. (Guardian Unlimited)
Leader loses bid for broader powers Dec 3, 2007
After awakening to predawn fireworks, she said she got in line at 6 a.m. to vote at a school in Petare, an area of vast hillside slums here ... There was no line in front of the voting center at the Cecilio Acosta school in Petare yesterday morning, as a few dozen people who had already voted milled about the street ... Other voting centers in Petare had lines outside, but they were less than half a block long.. (Boston Globe)
Venezuela scrambles for food despite oil boom Nov 14, 2007
"The last time I had them was September," said Marisol Perez, 51, a housewife in Petare, a sprawling barrio in eastern Caracas. When supplies do arrive long queues form instantly. (Guardian Unlimited)
Munckton: Venezuela Communal Power May 29, 2007
" Fuentes said he was able to attend a meeting in Petare, the largest barrio in Venezuela, aiming to create a federation of communal councils in the area. "I was able to get a real sense of both the exciting potential of the communal councils, as well as some of the problems they face. What was very clear was the push by those leading the process of constructing popular power to explain to people that the councils were not the end point, but were the means to achieve something much more... (Zmag.org)
Fernandes: Chavez & the Barrios Apr 8, 2007
Rather, they have alternative sources of identity that come from their barrio or parish (Barrio Sucre, Barrio Marn, 23 de Enero, San Agustin, Petare), and which form the basis of alternative social and community networks (Coordinadora Simn Bolvar, Cayapo, Radio Negro Primero, Ciudadela de Catia). These popular movements claim distinct genealogies that predate Chvez, including the clandestine movements against the 1950s military regime, the post-transition era of guerrilla struggle in the... (Zmag.org)
