Nature 421, 786; 2003 | 20 FEBRUARY 2003
Sir -
Mendoza et al. In
Correspondence (Nature 421, 473; 2003) ask for help in the name
of the Venezuelan scientific community, in view of the current turmoil in our
country. However, as we show here, the real figures tell a different story,
pointing to the efforts of the current government, in power since 1999, to
satisfy demands from the scientific sector.
More than 60% of
Venezuela's science budget comes from the government. During the past ten
years, total investment has continuosly increased from US$177 million in 1990
to $405 million during 2000. In 2001, the state science budget was,
astonishingly, increased by more than 50%, reaching $637 million. As a
consequence there have been more grants for established researchers as well as
a significant improvement in economic
support for graduate students.
Notably,
Venezuela spends more on science and technology activities per researcher than
anywhere else in the Americas apart from the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. In 1999,
while the NAFTA countries spent $126,000 per researcher, Venezuela spent
$76,000, compared with an average of just $62,000 in Latin America and the
Caribbean region. In 2000 Venezuela's spending increased to $86,000 while the
average in Latin America and the Caribbean went down to $61,000 (see www.ricyt.edu.ar).
The current
government has created a Ministry of Science and Technology and approved the
first law to promote science and technology in our country's history. Regional
governments are now required to contribute part of their budgets to science,
and a considerable amount of money devoted to regional programmes. We believe
that the present government has provided benefits to the scientific community,
and that its significant efforts for the advancement of science in Venezuela
should be recognized.
A considerable
number of enthusiastic science students and other young scientists in Venezuela
have shown their dedication to science during the current social and political
conflict, in particular during December and January, when many of them kept
working despite transport difficulties caused by petrol shortages and illegal
road blocks.
Despite the
efforts of some political and economic sectors to destabilize the
democratically elected government, many members of the scientific community are
confident that Venezuelan science will overcome this adverse situation in the
near future. Undoubtedly though, the current crisis will have a negative effect
on this year's science budget (see "Venezuelan science hit by national
strikes", www.scidev.net, 7 February
2003).
Alberto Albornoz
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Hermann Albrecht
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Marcelo J. Alfonzo Rosas
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Miguel
A. Alfonzo D.
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Geomar Arteaga
Universidad del Zulia
Reinaldo Atencio
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Diomedes Bárcenas
Universidad de Los Andes
Carlos L. Bello C.
Universidad del Zulia
Roldán Bermúdez
Universidad Central de
Venezuela
María Esther Burgos
Universidad de Los Andes
Juan
Luis Cabrera
Instituto
Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Maria I. Cabrera F.
Universidad del Zulia
Jesús Camacho Molina
Universidad del Zulia
Nereida Carrión
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Lila Carrizales
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Alan Valentín Castellano
Ramírez
Universidad del Zulia
David A. Castro M.
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Prudencio Chacón
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrícolas
Miguel Delgado
Universidad de Los Andes
Arnaldo
Donoso
Instituto
Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Romano Dorta
Universidad Simón
Bolívar
Braulio Fernández
Universidad de Los Andes
Carlos E.
Fernández-Bravo
Universidad del Zulia
Gisela Francis de Toba
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Luis
Emilio Guerrero
Universidad
Simón Bolívar
Gustavo Gutiérrez
Universidad Simón Bolívar
José V. Hernández
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Luis Hernández
Universidad de Los Andes
Julio Herrera
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Alida Hung R.
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Tibisay Hung
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Carlos Jiménez
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Mary Labady
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Manuel S. Laya M.
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Hugo Leiva
Universidad de Los Andes
Rubén Machado
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Dayssi Marcano
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Jairo Márquez P.
Universidad de Los Andes
Olga P.
Márquez
Universidad de Los Andes
Ramón Luis Montero
Mudarra
Universidad Central de
Venezuela
Guido Mora
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Jorge Mora
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Oscar Noya
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Alejandro Ochoa Arias
Universidad de Los Andes
Alonso D. Ojeda
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Jorge Ovalle
University of Maryland
Marco A. Parada
Universidad de Los Andes
Jaime E. Péfaur
Universidad de Los Andes
Mario Peralta
Universidad de Los Andes
Tibisay Pérez
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Judith Petit
Universidad de Los Andes
José Pierluissi
Universidad Central de
Venezuela
Germán Poleo
Universidad Centro
Occidental Lisandro Alvarado
Rafael Rangel
Universidad Simón
Bolívar
Leonardo Reyes
Universidad Simón
Bolívar
Carlos Rincón
Universidad de Los Andes
Alfonso Rodríguez
Universidad de Los Andes
Eloy
Rodríguez-Arias
Universidad Simón
Bolívar
Héctor Romero
Universidad de Los Andes
Liccia Romero
Universidad de Los Andes
Marcos Rosa-Brussin
Universidad Central de
Venezuela.
Luis Rosales
Universidad Nacional
Experimental Politécnica Antonio José de Sucre
Fredi Sánchez Misle
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Leonardo Sigalotti
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Pedro Silva
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Roldán Tomasz Suárez L.
Universidad de Los Andes
Oswaldo Terán
Universidad de Los Andes
Rafael Tovar Barradas
Universidad de Los Andes
Germán Urbina
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Elena Velasco
Universidad Central de
Venezuela
Angel L. Viloria
Instituto Venezolano de
Investigaciones Científicas
Griselda Zorrilla de
Mora
Universidad Central de
Venezuela