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July 9, 2008 4:58:43 AM CDT

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Chavez Turning Florida Into Lil' Venezuela

Posted Jan 23, 08 2:27 PM CST in World    Editor's Choice

(Newser) – Like Cubans fleeing Castro, Venezuelans leery of their country's future under socialist President Hugo Chavez are hightailing it to the US—mainly Florida. Venezuelan expats are raising kids, investing money, and opening businesses in South Florida, the New York Times reports. Asked about returning to Venezuela, “I won’t consider it, as long as there’s that guy there," replies one new Floridian.

Weston, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, is so popular with Venezuelan immigrants it's called Westonzuela, the Times reports. One director of a Venezuelan newspaper in Florida says the principle reason for migration is "fear of change of daily life, the loss of private property, loss of independence from the government, fear of the loss of constitutional rights and individual liberties."

Source New York Times

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Venezuelan nationals receive their ballots 03 December 2006, at a voting facility set up at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Nearly 17,000 Venezuelan's were registered to vote in the country's most...   (Getty Images)
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez arrives for a meeting with Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, unseen, and Nicaraguan businessman and farmers in Managua, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Esteban...   (Associated Press)
Luis Fernandez holds a Venezuelan flag during a protest in Coral Gables, Fla. (AP Photo/David Adame)   (Associated Press)
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez listens to a speech by Guatemala's new President Alvaro Colom, unseen, during Colom's swearing-in ceremony in Guatemala City, Monday, Jan. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Eduardo...   (Associated Press)
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