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RODRIGO ACUÑA
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 One
of the few allies President Bush can count on in Latin America has a
dark side, one that drapes over his country like a dark cloud. But
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez is not unique to that country’s
cast of characters and its dark political theatrics.
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RODRIGO ACUÑA
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 Like Ben & Jerry’s to ice cream, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is experimenting with many flavors of socialism, trying to forge his country’s government, foreign policies and world views to address the challenges of the 21st Century. And with Roman Catholicism being the primary religion throughout the Americas, Chávez is taking liberation theology to new levels.
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EVA GOLINGER
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 If you only read the US press, you must be very confused about Venezuela. The extreme levels of distortion, lack of fact checking and source verification and outright manipulation of information in the US media on Venezuela is quite troubling and dangerous in a nation that has waged wars based on false data and misleading policies.
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RYANN BRESNAHAN
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 The tears of some supporters mark the loss of the brutal strongman, who may have brought economic stability to the country’s middle-class, but at the expense of the already harsh living standards endured by the poor.
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LARRY BIRNS
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 Although the Latin American political (r)evolution took the scenic route pass Mexico it made a surprising stop in Ecuador this year. With the election of Rafael Correa, the oil-exporting nation is now poised to become the newest artery of a neo-socialist river running through the social, political and economic landscapes of the Americas.
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STEVEN MATHER
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 In a familiar sea of red shirts, Venezuelans convey their determination to continue on course with President Hugo Chávez, his administration and efforts to realize an economic turn-around for his country. With a broad portfolio of economic reforms that have impressed even the most adamant detractors, the re-election of Chávez should be little more than a formality on Sunday.
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RAFAEL MERINO CORTÉS
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 World politics, not meteorology, is the subject here. In particularly, the politics of the Western Hemisphere, where we are now witnessing an environmental shift in political ideology, economic priorities, allocation of resources and distribution of wealth between the north and south.
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GREGORY WILPERT
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 After
47 rounds of voting in which neither Venezuela nor Guatemala was able
to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority, the two countries announced yesterday
that they agreed on Panama as a compromise candidate for the rotating
UN Security Council seat that the two had been contesting.
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STEVEN MATHER
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 Venezuela’s struggle for the UN Security Council seat is not against Guatemala but the forces behind the small Central American country, which some see as a battering ram being used by the United States to break up Venezuela’s growing influence in the world political arena. |
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VENEZUELANALYSIS
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 Raising hell in the United Nations in his ‘sin-pelo-en- la-lengua’ style, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, pits President George W. Bush against the world and its survival as sovereign nations. Although heavily criticized by the media, Chávez reiterated sentiments that persist from many critics of the Bush Administration in the United States.
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EVA GOLINGER
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 When President Hugo Chávez talks about an eminent threat of an invasion
by the United States, he isn’t just crying wolf or employing defensive
rhetoric. Under John Negroponte, Director of National Intelligence, a new mission will bolster spy efforts in Cuba and Venezuela,
which may further deteriorate relations between Washington and Caracas.
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STEVEN MATHER
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 In a blow to Washington’s efforts to maintain political and economic dominion over Latin America, the Russian government has disregarded requests from the Bush Administration to stop further arms deals with Venezuela. Delivery of Sukhoi Su-30s, one of the deadliest fighter jets in the world, will begin at the end of the year. |
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RAFAEL MERINO CORTÉS
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 Peek between the cracks of the World Baseball Classic squabble between La Habana and Washington and you'll see a long tunnel into a dark world of politics. The 'okay' nod from Washington to allow Cuba to participate in the games was a preventive measure in fear of drawing more attention to the cracks in our confounding and beleaguered foreign policies.
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JOHN HUNT
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 And the beat goes on...the social (r)evolution in Latin America is now officially in full swing. With almost a dozen major elections scheduled next year throughout various countries in the Ibero-American continent, the dreams of Simón Bolivar, Ché Guevara and other revolutionaries are quickly coming to focus. But can promises turn into results -- especially in Bolivia, the second-poorest country in Latin America? |
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RAFAEL MERINO CORTÉS
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 When U.S. politicians invited petroleum companies to provide oil at affordable prices to poor communities, Citgo responded. The Bush administration is up in arms. Why? Citgo, a Venezuelan-owned company, was acting not only on an invitation bu Congressman José Serrano (D-NY), but on a promise by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
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GREG ROSENTHAL
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 What has become a vindictive exchange of words between Mexican President Vicente Fox and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez may be rooted in the future development and economic integration of the Americas. Although Chávez may have isolated himself for the moment from the Fox administration, it is actually Fox, and his party, who may be isolated from the Mexican people and government with elections coming up in July of 2006. |
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GREGORY WILPERT
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 “We
are neighbors in the same hemisphere, we are trading partners…So, I hope we would reduce rhetoric that
exacerbates tension. I hope our government will stop pursuing any
policy that suggests isolation.” |
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MIGUEL GUZMÁN
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 In a stunning revelation, Pat Robertson, considered a Humanitarian and Statesman, who founded the Christian Coalition of America, openly encouraged an assassination plot to “take out” Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez Frías. "We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability." |
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RAFAEL MERINO CORTÉS
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 Are these just political
opportunists and Leftist groups vying for dictatorial control in Latin America? Some
analysts disagree. This may simply be a political and economic awakening; a
popular reaction across the Spanish speaking nations who are tired of
being marginalized -- by their own governments, as well as by
foreign powers. |
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CLETO SOJO
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 "The real
causes of these uprisings are problems like hunger, lack of employment
and inadequate educational opportunities... The [United States] administration's
'solution' of blanket condemnations and skewed trade agreements will
never work." |
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