Chavez government says illiteracy has been eliminated

In a recent interview with Australia's Green Left Weekly, Dr. Rodrigo Chaves --who served until recently as the coordinator of Venezuela's pro-government Bolivarian Circles and now works as President Hugo Chavez's private secretary-- claims that Venezuela's illiteracy rate has declined from nine percent to one percent in recent years.  According to Chaves, illiteracy was essentially eradicated through a government program called "Mission Robinson," which was designed to teach poor adults and teenagers to read.

According to Chaves, "Mission Robinson II" is already in place and is educating 900,000 adults up to the level of sixth grade. Another program, "Mission Ribas," is designed to give all Venezuelans a high school education.