VENEZUELA: Quiet Inauguration

Venezuela's problems officially become President Romulo Betancourt's problems this week. Before a skeleton crew of delegates from overseas—held down at the economy-minded President-elect's own request, he will get into the ceremonial sash and inherit the headaches left by ousted Dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez.

Problem No. 1 on Betancourt's list is unemployment. Estimates of the jobless run around 170,000, or about 9% of the total work force. The problem bedevils Betancourt most in Caracas (pop. 1,000,000), where an estimated 70,000 are out of work. Just a fortnight ago, a few hundred demonstrators snowballed into a wild march of 15,000...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!