Many Venezuelans Plan To Emigrate After Chavez Win

Anybody with hope for freedom and economic opportunity is looking elsewhere

Juan Ibarra, a 35-year-old surgeon from Caracas, is preparing to emigrate after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won another six-year term on Oct. 7.

"I don't want to go but on balance every day my profession is at risk from the government," Ibarra, who worries Chavez may extend state control over clinics and regulate doctors' salaries, said in an Oct. 8 phone interview. "I don't have any other option but to pack my bags and have them ready."