In May, 2009, the Chavez government signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the nation's teachers union which gives teachers in Venezuela a raise of 30%. With this raise, teachers here have seen their salaries and benefits increases by 700% over what they were receiving before Hugo Chavez was elected president in 1998. (See "Venezuela Increases Public Teacher Salaries by 30%" by James Suggett at http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/...
Coupled with recognizing the importance of teachers to Venezuelan progress by increasing their salaries, the Chavez government has begun a nation-wide Reading Campaign to assist the intellectual development of all its citizens by providing thousands of free books, films and live performances throughout the country. Events are taking place in town squares where the government's Cultural Mission, called El Corazon Adentro or "Heart Within [the community]", distributes the free books and provide dance, drama and song presentations related to Venezuelan culture and history: