Venezuela’s new socialist leader hopes to continue the ambitious construction programs initiated by the late President Hugo Chávez, and the nation’s vast oil and mineral reserves will likely enable much—but perhaps not all—of the work to go on, said sources familiar with the political and economic conditiions in Venezuela.
“The construction programs of the Venezuelan government are largely sustainable” under Chávez’s successor, said George Ciccariello-Maher, assistant professor of history and politics at Drexel University, an expert on Venezuela and author of a new book, "We Created Chávez: A People's History of the Venezuelan Revolution.”