Venezuela will not miss Miss Universe

BBCLast Updated: Tuesday, 20 May, 2003, 12:04 GMT 13:04 UK

Mariangel Ruiz: Hoping to join Venezuela's winning tradition

The president of a television channel has stepped in to ensure Miss Venezuela will not miss out on the Miss Universe beauty contest.

The organisers of the Miss Venezuela pageant had announced that their reigning beauty, Mariangel Ruiz, would not be taking part in the Miss Universe contest being held in Panama this year.

They said the economic and political crisis in Venezuela meant they could not obtain the $80,000 needed to send a candidate because of foreign currency restrictions imposed by the Chavez government.

But the president of the Cisneros media group, Gustavo Cisneros, whose television channel Venevision transmits the national contest, said he would pay for the Venezuelan winner to take part.

His gesture followed a request from the Panamanian president, Mireya Moscoso, urging him to ensure that there was a Venezuelan representative at the contest on 3 June.

Announcing the decision on the Miss Venezuela website Mr Cisneros said: "I have spoken with the President of Panama who stressed the great importance of Miss Venezuela taking part in Miss Universe."

Centenary celebrations

Speaking from Panama, he added: "Panama is celebrating its centenary, a date that is vital for the whole of Latin America and therefore we have decided that the Cisneros Organisation will take on the duty of bringing Mariangel Ruiz to this beautiful country."

He said it would be a chance to show, once more, the true nature of "the beauty and intelligence of the Venezuelan woman".

Venezuela, which has won more international beauty contests in the last 25 years than any other country, would have missed the pageant for the first time in over 40 years.

Venezuelan contestants have won four Miss Universe title and five Miss World contests.

Miss Ruiz, 23, had said she was "deeply affected" by the possibility that she would not be attending the contest to represent the country's "hopes and expectations".

The financial constraints were imposed by the Chavez government in January to stop panic buying of dollars and so protect the country's dwindling international reserves.