CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Mariana Jimenez, a 20-year-old social communications student, has been crowned as the new Miss Venezuela, surpassing 24 other contestants and winning the right to represent Venezuela in the Miss Universe pageant.

As in recent years, the country’s hard economic times were apparent in Thursday night’s austere ceremony. The show went on without the international pop stars and Broadway-like dance productions that used to grace the competition. And it was held in the small studio of the show’s sponsor rather than a large arena.

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