Venezuela

2007

Forum on Venezuela

Differing views on the defeat of constitutional reforms championed by President Hugo Chávez from Mark Weisbrot, Sujatha Fernandes, Chesa Boudin, Elisabeth Young-Bruehl and Greg Grandin.
Chavismo and Democracy

Greg Grandin

An honest account of the referendum cuts through neoliberal propaganda and looks at what's really at stake.
Progressive Change in Venezuela

Mark Weisbrot

The stuggle is not between pro-Chávez and anti-Chávez factions but between left and right.
Behind the Student Movement's Victory

Elisabeth Young-Bruehl

First and foremost, Venezuelans rejected Chávez's political proposals.
A Silver Lining for the Bolivarian Revolution

Chesa Boudin

Losing the referendum may be the best outcome for Chávez--and his movement.
What Does the 'No' Vote Mean?

Sujatha Fernandes

The referendum defeat may temporarily revive a flagging opposition, but it does not spell the collapse of the movement Chávez has inspired.
Chávez: 'Galbraithiano'

Greg Grandin : Economics

As Venezuela and the rest of Latin America repair the damage of two decades of free-market orthodoxy, John Kenneth Galbraith is a major inspiration.
Revolution in Venezuela?

Joaquín Villalobos : Hugo Chavez

Oil money allows Hugo Chávez to do many things, but it will never be enough to buy a revolution.
Mission to Caracas

Victor Navasky : Media Analysis

Hugo Chávez's critics may mock his ideas of twenty-first-century socialism as empty rhetoric. Perhaps it's more like magical realism--still a fiction, but one to be nourished as a realizable ideal.

2006

Chávez's Citizen Diplomacy

Liza Featherstone : Oil

Venezuela's controversial program to provide heating oil to impoverished American communities exposes the inability of the richest nation on earth to meet the needs of its poor.
Chávez's Citizen Diplomacy

Liza Featherstone : Oil

Venezuela's controversial program to provide heating oil to impoverished American communities exposes the inability of the richest nation on earth to meet the needs of its poor.
Latin Left Turn

Daphne Eviatar : South America

Hugo Chávez was re-elected not for his admiration of Castro but for presiding over a robust economy and aggressively improving the lot of Venezuela's poor.
A Fair and Square Vote in Venezuela

Emily Jane Goodman

A New York judge, invited to observe the Venezuelan presidential election, discovers a functional democracy, reliable electronic-voting technology and a passionate, engaged electorate.
Letter From Venezuela: The Land of Chavismo

Chesa Boudin : Hugo Chavez

Although the United States itches to do away with Hugo Chávez, his socialist policies are alleviating poverty and earning the people's trust. To Bush's chagrin, the Venezuelan leader is here to stay.
The World Social Forum: Protest or Celebration?

Michael Blanding : International Organizations

The World Social Forum in Caracas provided living proof of alternative political and social visions, but raised new questions about government co-optation.

2005

An Oil-Slicked Playing Field

Dilip Hiro : Oil

The scramble for petroleum by developing countries worldwide is reshaping global geopolitics in favor of oil-rich nations like Iran, Venezuela and Sudan.
Chávez and Maradona Lead Massive Rebuke of Bush

Jordana Timerman : George W. Bush

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Argentine soccer hero Diego Maradona led thousands in a massive rebuke of George W. Bush, his trade policies and his neoconservative agenda at the Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata Argentina. Despite some sporadic violence, the protest focused on developing indigenous alternatives to US-led trade initiatives policies.
The Virtues of Gas Guzzling

Alexander Cockburn : Oil

Gas-guzzling can be a revolutionary experience, like puffing Montecristo cigars, now that Citgo's 1,800 gas stations and eight oil refineries passed into the hands of Venezuela's national oil company.
Hugo Chávez and Petro Populism

Christian Parenti : Oil

What Venezuela's revolution is made of.