Venezuela Begins Its Controversial Economic Reforms

With Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez out of the country to receive medical treatment, Vice President Nicolas Maduro is leading the Venezuelan government's push to implement critical and overdue economic reforms. The government plans to address a number of challenges, including adjusting the currency exchange system, boosting the government's oil revenue and possibly even raising fuel prices, a maneuver that has led to massive unrest in the past. If mismanaged, the reforms could destabilize the country, but Caracas believes it must act now to keep the economy from deteriorating further.