Word: venezuelan
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Washington started off on the wrong foot with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shortly after he took office in 1999. Embarking on his first international tour as head of state, Chávez took a call from a high-ranking Clinton Administration official, who told the Venezuelan leader that it would be better for his country's relations with the U.S. if he avoided visiting Fidel Castro in Cuba. Chávez, a left-wing nationalist, had yet to develop his gushing friendship with Castro, but like other leaders all over Latin America - even those who dislike the Cuban leader...
...firmly establish a trend that, according to those who oppose such restrictions, will strengthen democracy by allowing voters to decide how long a popular leader can stick around. Term-limit proponents, however, say Chávez's triumph will only carry the region back to its authoritarian past. "What Venezuelan voters decide is their business," says John Walsh, a senior associate at the Washington Office on Latin America, an independent think tank. "But a threshold does seem to have been crossed...
...There has yet to be any reaction from the State Department but, before the vote, the State said simply that the referendum was an internal matter for the Venezuelans to decide upon. Despite declaring during his campaign last year that he'd be willing to meet with Chávez, U.S. President Barack Obama in a recent interview was critical of the Venezuelan and his stridently anti-U.S. stance. Washington will now watch to see if Chávez, who controls the western hemisphere's largest oil reserves, can retain his boisterous influence in the Americas - and survive politically...
...worked within the system and eventually accessed power democratically in 1998, mainly supported by the urban lower classes. During his decade in power, he has made Venezuela a stronghold of anti-Americanism and political radicalism. A visionary critic of the Washington Consensus, he initially pledged to end Venezuelan inequality. After nationalizing oil contracts in the country and forcing out foreign investors, he has used the money for lavish projects in Venezuela that have bought him unprecedented support...
...Chávez is attempting to delay the painful but inevitable hard choices in the sphere of Venezuelan political economy until after the referendum. Much like the German parliamentary elections of 1933, this referendum is a high-stakes gamble for absolute political hegemony. With his grip on state power, it would be very hard to remove him democratically once indefinite re-election is constitutionally allowed. So nothing less than Venezuela’s democratic institutions are on the line. But, if Venezuelans manage to reject Chavez’s delusions of autocracy once more, there will most likely...