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Officially, the school is mandatory for 10 years for
children aged 6 to 15 with 6-year primary school and 3-year
secondary school. 1 year preschool is also compulsory. High
school is 2 years old. There is a big difference in school
standards between cities and rural areas. 90% of children
attend primary school, and approx. 60% of them go on to high
school. There are over 90 higher education institutions,
both private and public, including 20 universities. In 2003,
approx. 7% of the adult population is estimated to be
illiterate. Check topschoolsintheusa for test centers of ACT, SAT, and GRE as well high schools in the country of Venezuela.
1976 The oil is nationalized
In 1960, Venezuela was one of the initiators of the
formation of the OPEC (Organization of the Oil Exporting
Countries). In 1976, the entire oil business in Venezuela
was nationalized by AD President Carlos Andrés Pérez,
without in any way abolishing the control the oil monopolies
have constantly had over the country's economy. At the same
time, Pérez supported the formation of Latin American
economic cooperation SELA (Sistema Económico
Latinoamericano) and the development of a New Economic World
Order.
The December 78 election gave power to COPEI (the
Christian Democrats), who had been a brief interruption in
AD's monopoly of power in 1969-73. But President Luis
Herrera Campins did not make major changes to the country's
economic or social structures.
Despite the country being the world's third largest oil
exporter and under the Pérez and Herrera governments
receiving historically high oil revenues, it was unable to
manage the huge revenue wisely. During the 1970's, a strong
state capitalist sector developed, which on the basis of oil
revenues made huge investments to develop an extensive
export-oriented industry based on the production of oil,
iron, aluminum and cement. At the same time, almost all
private economic activities received state subsidies. Even
today, the state accounts for 95% of the country's export
revenue and is by far the largest employer.
In 1981-82, legal proceedings were initiated with
Colombia on the right of the Guajira Peninsula and with
Guyana on the Esequibo area. At the same time, Venezuela at
the International Conference on the Law of the Sea succeeded
in gaining control of large sea areas in the Caribbean.
An intensified economic crisis in the developed
capitalist world of 82 led to a significant fall in oil
prices and thus a decline in Venezuela's oil revenues.
Instead, foreign debt increased, and throughout the year
large amounts of private capital flowed abroad. It
ultimately forced the government to impose controls on the
currency and with foreign trade. Inflation increased, as did
unemployment and poverty. The crisis worsened in 83, and in
June the country had to give up paying $ 5 billion in
interest and repayments on foreign debt. At the December 83
election, widespread dissatisfaction with the Christian AD
brought power back to Jaime Lusinchi as president. He got
56% of the vote.
The people supported the Lusinchi government for a time,
but he was unable to slow down the country's economic roller
coaster. He pursued a crisis policy that yielded only
mediocre results and sought to form a social pact with
employers and trade unions, but it broke down. Towards the
end of his reign, he tried to increase state control over
the economy, but it culminated in a series of corruption
scandals.
However, the Lusinchi government succeeded in playing an
important foreign policy role through its participation in
the Contadorra Group, which diplomatically worked for peace
in Central America. But at the same time, the country
maintained its close relations with the IMF and the United
States. In January 86, the country converted two-thirds of
its foreign debt into new 10-year loans, but the fall in oil
prices already forced the year after the government into new
debt negotiations. Before his presidential term ended in 88,
Lusinchi had to suspend payments once more, in an attempt to
get another refinancing done.
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