Bolivarian Missions

The cornerstone of the Bolivarian Revolution is the Constitution that mandates that the government must actually help the people, not with empty rhetoric but through tangible action. The actual implementation is accomplished through the Bolivarian Missions. The Missions are social justice, social welfare, anti-poverty, and educational programs implemented by the government to help the vast majority of Venezuelans who were previously excluded from virtually all their country's wealth by a tiny elite of U.S.-backed plutocrats. The Missions represent tangible campaigns to help the people of Venezuela who democratically demanded this change. The primary Missions are:

Mission Robinson (I) This Mission sought to eliminate illiteracy in Venezuela. Launched in July 2003, 1.5 million Venezuelans were taught reading, writing and basic math by more than 100,000 volunteer teachers and military personnel (who are NOT being employed invading other countries to increase oil profit) that were mobilized for the Mission. The Mission was a total success and on October 28, 2005, Venezuela was officially declared a illiteracy-free territory by the United Nations (UNESCO).

Mission Robinson (II) This Mission began in 2005 and is ongoing, providing ongoing basic education courses for those that failed to complete their elementary education. There are currently some 1,468,967 Venezuelans being helped by this Mission by over 104,000 teachers.

Mission Ribas This Mission began in October 2003 and is ongoing. The goal is to provide remedial high school level classes to the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan poor that were forced to quit school due to poverty. This Mission is to continue and will serve as a continuation of Mission Robinson (II). From its start in 2003, through January 2006, more than 885,410 Venezuelans have benefited from the Mission.

Mission Sucre This Mission started in September 2003 and is the higher education (college/university) extension of Missions Robinson and Ribas. The Ministry of Education and the national university system operate the Mission, opening higher education to qualified high school graduates that can pass the examination regardless of their financial means. More than 318,381 have passed the University Introduction Program (college prep.) and are now in university. Further the Mission has granted 96,412 scholarships to the poorest students for their higher education. Prior to the Bolivarian Revolution and Mission Sucre, higher education inside Venezuela was almost exclusively limited to the plutocratic elite, now it is open to all Venezuelans that are qualified.

Mission Barrio Adentro (I) The goal of this Mission is to provide free basic healthcare to the poorest segments of the population. The Mission began in April 2003 is still ongoing but has fallen behind schedule. Nevertheless the Mission has satisfied over 162,012,583 requests for medical assistance, 14,716,325 requests for dental assistance and 3,811,741 requests for eye care. In the process they have saved 31,063 lives, distributed 375,144 pairs of glasses, and constructed 1,012 medical centers. This Mission has been substantially aided by Cuban medical personnel.

Mission Barrio Adentro (II) This Mission began in June 2005 and provides higher level medical care. Since the Mission began it has provided 3,936,874 lab tests, 535,631 emergency surgeries, 775,690 ultrasounds, 285,415 X-Rays, 324,936 electrocardiograms, 108 operations, 55,499 endoscopies, and 1,064,339 rehabilitation treatments. This Mission has also opened 200 new Internal Diagnosis Centers, with another 704 currently under construction.

Mission Barrio Adentro (III) This is another new Mission and seeks to radically improve the hospital networks to compliment Mission Barrio Adentro (II). Essentially this is a massive upgrade of rural hospitals - now known as "People's Hospitals" - by providing them with modern medical equipment.

Mission Barrio Adentro (Sports) Recognizing the value of regular exercise in maintaining overall health as well as its role in community building and public entertainment, this Mission seeks to encourage participation in sporting teams and leagues, provide physical education in the schools, and build facilities and secure open spaces for sporting events.

Mission Vuelvan Caras After successfully completing the educational development provided by Missions Robinson and Ribas, those not continuing on to university are expected to learn a trade and use their skills to contribute to the overall economic development of Venezuela. Mission Vuelvan Caras is the vocational continuation of Missions Robinson and Ribas for those not planning to go to university. Since the Mission began in January 2004, 6,814 vocational cooperatives have been formed and 130 vocational development centers have been opened. Between January 2004 and January 2006, more than 264,720 Venezuelans have graduated from the program with the necessary vocational skills to successfully participate in the Venezuelan economy.

Mission Mercal This Mission was established to provide food and other essential products - like medicine - at discounted rates for the poorest elements of the Venezuelan population. Through a network of some 6,000 distribution points, subsidized food and medicine are provided to the poorest Venezuelans at roughly 37% below current market value. Some 14,539,300 people have benefitted from this element of the Mission. The Mission also operates 6,004 soup kitchens in the poorest areas providing people with free meals. More than 1,374,312 people living in extreme poverty have been granted free meals through this program.

Mission Guaicaipuro This Mission began in August 2004 and seeks to encourage economic development among Venezuela's indigenous population that was completely ignored prior to the Bolivarian Revolution. Beyond economic development, the Mission also seeks to strengthen indigenous cultural identity by encouraging education in their native languages, health, and community building. As of January 2006, the Mission has granted 21 parcels of land to tribal groups and initiated 61 other projects in line with the Mission's goal.

Mission Zamora This Mission is an extension of Mission Mercal and is designed to increase domestic food production in order to back the food subsidies being provided in the urban areas. Mission Zamora seeks to create a strong community of small farmers in rural parts of the country by granting permanent farmsteads to rural farmers. Prior to the Bolivarian Revolution most rural farmers were either poor employees of the wealthy elites that owned most of the land or uncompetitive small farmers that were largely excluded from the overall national economy by the wealthy elites. This Mission provides small farmers with their own farms and integrates them into the overall economy while subsidizing Mission Mercal in the cities. Between January 2005 and January 2006 the Mission has granted more than 68,000 land titles representing more than 7,000,000 acres and has established 48 Zamora Ranches covering almost 57,000 acres.

Mission Cultura Mission Cultura was initiated in July 2005 and seeks to enhance Venezuelan cultural identity and community integration by establishing a new degree in teaching Venezuelan culture and diversity. This is a university level degree taught by 328 university teachers.

Mission Negra Hipólita This is the newest Mission to be launched, beginning in January 2006. The first stage of the new mission is the formation of community level Committees of Social Protection that will carry out a nation wide census to identify children not attending school, addicts and alcoholics, homeless, handicapped, pregnant youth at risk, and otherwise needy, but thus far unattended to individuals. With this information, these committees will formulate plans of action that fit the particular needs of their own community. These will be considered and funded through the new Special Fund Negra Hipَlita. The Mission is too new to provide too much information about it.

Mission Piar This Mission was established to improve the circumstances of Venezuelan miners and their families. The Mission seeks to improve the standard of living for miners while developing environmentally responsible mining policies.

Mission Identity In order to legally vote in Venezuela, a citizen must have a valid identity card. When President Chavez came to power in 1998, only nine million of Venezuela's 23 million citizens were registered voters with identity cards, the vast majority of the poor being effectively disenfranchised. Mission Identity seeks to register all legal voters and provide them with their identity cards. Today, there are 14 million legal voters in Venezuela as the poor have regained the franchise and thus the right to vote. Clearly this Mission provides a political benefit to President Chavez while also giving a larger number of Venezuelans a say in their government.

Mission Habitat Mission Habitat is the greatest housing program in Venezuelan history with the goal of providing all Venezuelans with affordable modern housing throughout the country.