What does a mango thrown at the head of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tell us about Venezuela’s economic future? Not much.
What does a mango thrown at the head of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tell us about Venezuela’s economic future? Not much.
It is interesting to see the current commentary on ISIS/ISIL in Iraq and how policymakers and the mainstream media have reported on a situation that is confusing and complicated. In reality, the suppression of the 2009 election in Iran lead to a violent response to protestors in Syria, leading to a dithering policy on […]
Many Americans feel that their current system of government is unable to get anything done in any meaningful way. Conflicts between interests in the U.S. government has blocked essential legislation from being passed, and interest groups in the political system thrive off preventing the president from passing many of his key policy initiatives. While compromise […]
The results of the April 14 presidential election in Venezuela were polemic but not surprising. The real test comes in the days ahead and the degree to which the opposition demands a recount. Despite mental preparation for an electoral battle, the news of defeat was still met with despair by Venezuelans supporting opposition candidate Henrique […]
Each week, the editors at the Foreign Policy Association provide a roundup of their favorite must-read pieces from around the web. This week: Iraq, the Putin Doctrine, Hugo Chavez’s polarizing politics, the weakening two state solution, and much more.
Among the more important questions to surface in the wake of Hugo Chávez’s death on March 5: Will chavismo survive? The answer, usually given in the affirmative, frequently invokes a previous era of Latin American history. For example, a column on the London Review of Book’s website, “Chavez Hasta Siempre,” draws a parallel to Che […]
Now that one of Latin America’s most controversial figures has died, it is interesting to look back at his actions, actions that will reverberate in the western hemisphere for some time to come. This is a short piece (about 52 minutes) that is clearly a love letter from the maker, Cinema Libre Studio. The whole […]
This week: Dennis Rodman hangs out in North Korea, Hugo Chavez dies, America plays out its fiscal drama, and Bashar al-Assad follows in his father’s footsteps.
The fragility of democracy has been on full display this week. Distressingly, challenges to freedom and order have occurred literally around the globe. Here is an overview of situations to monitor; all of these stories broke today, Wed. March 6, 2013. Venezuela I would be remiss to not start with the March […]
At a high-level executive meeting in Mexico City on Feb. 13, the conversation turned, as it often does in Latin American circles, into a guessing game on Chavez´ health. Several participants insisted ¨Chavez is dead, we haven´t heard from him or seen him in weeks.¨ My response? The man is too ornery to pass away […]
Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Rafael Correa in Ecuador swept into power promising to use the wealth of natural resources in their countries to help address widespread poverty and stabilize the economy. Both improved situations enough to win reelection, but both also seem to have a strong grip on power and willingness to curtail democracy […]
Back in October during Venezuela’s presidential election, the health status of President Hugo Chavez–and its impact on his ability to lead the country–was unclear. Yet the president’s popularity won out and he was awarded another term. Yet it has now been over a month since his last public appearance, after which Chavez underwent cancer surgery. […]
Recently in my own community, one branch of the government has taken to openly violating some enshrined rights under the constitution using their own legislation that clearly violates the rights of the people. The acceptance in using the legal system to remove the rights of citizens that are governed under a constitution were surprisingly permitted. […]
Hugo Chavez should be officially sworn into office on January 10. But with Chavez’s advanced cancer and his recently announced “complications,” it is unclear who will lead the country in 2013. Here is a brief primer. As Tim Padgett recently argued, Venezuela’s Bolivarian constitution provides a “murky map” on matters of incapacity and succession. The […]
Despite a strong showing by Henrique Capriles Radonski, not surprisingly Hugo Chavez emerged victorious from Venezuela’s presidential election on Oct. 7, 2012. He won 54% of the vote to Capriles’ 45%. Over 80% of eligible voters participated, with little to no reports of fraud or coercion that I’ve read. While still a comfortable margin, Capriles’ […]