HUGO CHÁVEZ FRÍAS TO SPEAK ON “THE PRESENCE OF VENEZUELA IN THE WORLD” WHAT: Hugo Chávez Frías, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, will discuss “The Presence of Venezuela in the World” in an evening address at New York University. The event will also enable the University to honor the Venezuelan President, and to acknowledge the University’s gratitude to Venezuela for a grant from CITGO, the U.S. affiliate of Venezuelan Petroleum. The grant endowed a chair in Latin American Cultures and Civilizations, established at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, in the name of the 19th century scholar and diplomat Andrés Bello.
President Chávez recently assumed the presidency of the “Group of 77,” a UN organization devoted to furthering the prosperity of 133 developing nations around the world. Born in 1954, he attended Venezuela’s Military Academy and in 1992 headed a group of young officers of the Armed Forces in a rebellion against a social and political order characterized by corruption and injustice. On Feb. 2, 1999, he was appointed President and subsequently won a presidential election held later that year after the adoption of a new Venezuelan constitution.
WHEN: Friday, January 11, 6 p.m. (Journalists need to report at 5:30 p.m. for security clearance).
WHERE: NYU’s Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, 12th floor
Journalists must call ahead to register and must provide credentials at the door.