Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez, president of Venezuela in both boom and bust, died on December 25th, aged 88
EVER since 1922, when the first gusher at Maracaibo roared up with the noise of “a thousand freight trains”, the history and destiny of Venezuela has been tied fast to oil. “Black gold” has brought highways, schools, shipyards, hydroelectric plants and the skyscrapers of Caracas. It has also brought economic collapse, political repression and thoroughgoing corruption. Not for nothing is it also known in Venezuela as the excrement of the devil.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Carlos Andrés Pérez”
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