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The People
Venezuela is seen as the melting pot o South America. Its population includes a large number of people o mixed Spanish and Indian origin; over two-thirds of Venezuelans define themselves as mixed race. There are some pure Africans and a strong element of African descent Blacks make up nearly a tenth o the population. They are concentrated mainly along the coast, particularly at the ports, in the villages near Lake Maracaibo, and also in Caracas. Some Afro-Venezuelans are the descendants of the 60,000 slaves imported during the 17th and 18th centuries to work on the cacao plantations. The arrival o 800,000 European immigrants, mostly in the e1950’s have also greatly modified the racial make up. One in six of all Venezuelans is today foreign born. It is claimed that racism does not exits in Venezuela’s café con leche (coffee with milk) culture. One of the country’s great thinkers, Arturo Uslar Pietri, wrote: "In Venezuela there are neither whites nor blacks, neither mestizos nor Indians. There are only Venezuelans". True, this mixture o Americans, Africans and Europeans has given Venezuela a rich and varied social and cultural lie, but this is still a highly unequal society, in which power and wealth remains in the hands o a white elite. Though there is certainly some social mobility today, most black Venezuelans work in poorly paid agricultural or domestic jobs, and the country’s indigenous people are among the poorest and most marginalized communities. |
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The Indigenous Peoples
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About 1% o the population (150,000) is indigenous, divided into 27 linguistically and culturally distinct ethnic groups. Among the best known are the Yanomami, who live in Amazonas, and the bare in the Sierra de Perija, on the northwest border with Colombia. An Indian reserve gives the bare effective control of their own land, but this has not prevented infringement from mining, plantation or settlers. The Yanomami, too, have faced such threats from miners and gold prospectors, despite the government setting aside 83,000sq km of territory for them.
The struggle for land rights is the main issue acing the country’s remaining indigenous peoples today. The National Indian Council o Venezuela (CONIVE) claims that 83% o indigenous groups lack title deeds to their own lands. This renders them vulnerable to exploitation from oil companies and cattle barons. Among the groups that do not have title to their territory are the Wayuu, the Panare and the Piaroa, The largest indigenous group are the Guaira, who number between 200 and 300, and live in an around the Sinamaica lagoon north of Maracaibo, They have managed to preserve their language and traditions while also prospering from cattle raising and tourism. |
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