This article is about Latin America's democracy and international trade policy. "Latin American democracy is in trouble. The assertion may sound absurd at first. Never has the Western Hemisphere been ...so free. For the first time in history, the overwhelming majority of Latin America's 583 million people are at liberty to come and go as they please and unafraid to speak their minds." (Newsweek) "...events in Paraguay have set off an international chain reaction, shaking the region's trade and diplomacy and threatening to disrupt Latin America's progress toward full democratic rule."
"Born in 2008 in response to the global banking and credit crisis, bitcoin has found its 'patient zero' a decade later in Venezuela. Faced with hyperinflation, a worthless local currency and a risky ...black market for dollars, Venezuelans are increasingly turning to bitcoin as a tool for survival in the world's worst-performing economy. In most countries, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies still struggle for visibility and operate mainly within niche online circles of tech- or finance-savvy speculators and enthusiasts. But in Venezuela, brick-and-mortar retailers, including restaurants and shoe shops, post signs in their stores inviting customers to actually spend bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies." (Newsweek) This viewpoint article argues bitcoin is a lifeline for Venezuelans dealing with an economic crisis.
"Finding a moment in the history of U.S.-Venezuelan relations when tensions between the two countries have been worse than at the present time July 2005 is difficult. Some in the U.S. Government ...perceive President Hugo Chavez Frias as uncooperative regarding U.S. regional policies on counternarcotics, free trade, and support for democracy...Since he was elected president in 1998, Chavez has transformed Venezuelan Government and society in what he has termed a Bolivarian revolution. Based on Chavez's interpretation of the thinking of Venezuelan founding fathers Simon Bolivar and Simon Rodriguez, this revolution brings together a set of ideas that justifies a populist and sometimes authoritarian approach to government, the integration of the military into domestic politics, and a focus on using the state's resources to serve the poor--the president's main constituency...These policies consolidated Chavez's domestic authority but generated a great deal of opposition in Venezuela, including a failed coup attempt in 2002." (Military Review) Aspects of Venezuela's "Bolivarian Revolution" are defined.
Venezuela's Suicide Naím, Moisés; Toro, Francisco
Foreign affairs (New York, N.Y.),
11/2018, Letnik:
97, Številka:
6
Magazine Article
Under the leadership of Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has experienced a toxic mix of wantonly destructive policy, escalating authoritarianism, and kleptocracy, all under a ...level of Cuban influence that often resembles an occupation. Any one of these features would have created huge problems on its own. All of them together hatched a catastrophe. Today, Venezuela is a poor country and a failed and criminalized state run by an autocrat beholden to a foreign power. The remaining options for reversing this situation are slim; the risk now is that hopelessness will push Venezuelans to consider supporting dangerous measures, such as a U.S.-led military invasion, that could make a bad situation worse.
Fidel's Heir Anderson, Jon Lee
The New Yorker,
06/2008, Letnik:
84, Številka:
18
Magazine Article
"Chavez campaigned for the Presidency, in 1998, with promises to bring radical change, but, for a time after he won, it was unclear whether he could deliver much more than symbolism and oratory. When ...he took office, oil was at a mere ten dollars a barrel, and his first government budget was seven billion dollars; last year 2007, as oil approached a hundred dollars a barrel (by last week, it was a hundred and thirty-six dollars), the budget rose to fifty-four billion. The oil money has allowed Chavez to triple spending on social programs. Even though many of these 'missions,' as they're known, have foundered or have proved inadequate, the volume of revenues has meant an improvement in living standards for the country's poorest citizens, who are, unsurprisingly, Chavez's strongest supporters. It has also given him the means to buy influence with his neighbors, usually at the expense of the United States." (New Yorker) Author Jon Lee Anderson explores the "influence of Hugo Chavez."
Latin America's Left Turn Castaeda, Jorge G
Foreign Affairs,
05/2006, Letnik:
85, Številka:
3
Magazine Article
With all the talk of Latin America's turn to the left, few have noticed that there are really two lefts in the region. One has radical roots but is now open-minded and modern; the other is ...close-minded and stridently populist. Rather than fretting over the left's rise in general, the rest of the world should focus on fostering the former rather than the latter--because it is exactly what Latin America needs.
For nearly a decade, U.S. policy toward Latin America has been narrowly focused on a handful of issues, such as China's growing influence in the region and the power of Venezuelan President Hugo ...Chávez. Latin Americans want economic ties with the United States but feel slighted by Washington and uneasy about the U.S. role in the world. The costs of the estrangement will be high for both sides.
