Foreign Policy Blogs

The Cuba-Venezuela Connection

Fidel Castro wrote yesterday that the fate of Cuba and of the Americas is inextricably linked to today’s referendum in Venezuela, which will decide whether President Hugo Chavez will have the right to run for President again in 2012 and beyond. Castro’s reflection (an English translation) is here.

Venezuelans are crowding into voting booths at this very moment. To learn more about the referendum itself, watch the Miami Herald’s video report, below.

 

Author

Melissa Lockhart Fortner

Melissa Lockhart Fortner is Senior External Affairs Officer at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, having served previously as Senior Programs Officer for the Council. From 2007-2009, she held a research position at the University of Southern California (USC) School of International Relations, where she closely followed economic and political developments in Mexico and in Cuba, and analyzed broader Latin American trends. Her research considered the rise and relative successes of Latin American multinationals (multilatinas); economic, social and political changes in Central America since the civil wars in the region; and Wal-Mart’s role in Latin America, among other topics. Melissa is a graduate of Pomona College, and currently resides in Pasadena, California, with her husband, Jeff Fortner.

Follow her on Twitter @LockhartFortner.