Chavez Birthplace Stagnates 20 Years on From Socialist Revolution
AFP reports:
Deserted streets and closed stores surround the imposing statue of late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in his birthplace of Sabaneta, 20 years after the enigmatic figure launched the country's revolution.
Sabaneta, in Barinas State, has not forgotten its most illustrious son and commemorates him with almost fanatical devotion, marking out important sites from his life in much the same way as Holy Land tours paying homage to Jesus Christ.
The "Route of Conscience" visits the house of Chavez's grandmother Rosines, where he was born on July 28, 1954.
It includes the house he grew up in, his school and a tree under which South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar once camped -- and from where Chavez launched the campaign for his last election.
Yet Sabaneta has not been spared the crippling financial crisis that has left millions of Venezuelans in poverty.
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