Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías
President

(pronounced "OO-go CHAH-vezz")

"This will be a government of neither the left nor the right…It will be a civic humanist government because it will put in first place, at the center of its attention, human beings."

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela sits on the northern tip of the continent of South America, directly east of Colombia. Its northern boundary is 2,800 km (1,740 mi) of Caribbean Sea coastline. Guyana and Brazil share borders on Venezuela's east and southeastern sides, respectively. Venezuela covers an area of 912,050 sq km (352,144 sq mi) and is shaped somewhat like a saddle. The capital and largest city is Caracas.

Venezuela's population was estimated at 24,287,640 in 2002. Approximately 67% of the people are mestizo (half-indigenous, half-Spanish), 21% white (Spanish), 10% black...