Venezuela: Rosier Than Red

The Sears, Roebuck stores in Caracas look a little like fortresses these days, with steel watchtowers manned round-the-clock by battle-ready Venezuelan soldiers. Since last February, Castroite terrorists have bombed each of Sears’s eleven stores, and burned down a $2,000,000 warehouse. So how’s business? Great. Sears’s sales are now running 30% better than last year in some stores. The company is rebuilding the warehouse, adding a twelfth store, and going partners on two new factories to produce furniture and stoves.

Despite Castro, the fact is that after almost five years of President Romulo Betancourt’s democratic regime, Venezuela is one Latin American country with a sound and growing economy. Its vast oilfields have always given Venezuela a natural advantage. Betancourt has used the oil money to diversify into other industries and balance the budget, has also kept prices stable—if very high.

Other indications of health:

> The gross national product is growing by 6% annually.

>Per capita income now stands at $850, highest in Latin America.

> Export trade yielded a $5,000,000 surplus in 1962, and banks bulge with $737 million in dollar reserves, highest in Latin America.

> Oil production is 1.5% ahead of last year’s record, and manufacturing is expanding at an annual rate of more than 7%.