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German institute pulls out of Canadian tar sands project

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - Mar. 20 (News Report) - Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres drops out of research into tar sands impact over fears of reputational impact

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In Venezuela, oil and idealism won't mix forever

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Christian Science Monitor - Mar. 10 (Special Report) - Venezuela's oil is too big for major energy companies to ignore and too risky to plunge into. Eventually, post-Chávez Venezuela will choose pragmatism over ...

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TJ Armand Talks With Noam Chomsky @ MIT (March 6th, 2013) - YouTube

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

tjarmand.com - By T.J.Armand, Noam Chomsky - Mar. 10 (Interview) - Noam Chomsky talks to TJ Armand about the mixed legacy of Hugo Chavez, freedom of speech violations in Turkey, religious fundamentalism and gay marriage in the U.S.

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Hugo Chávez Dead: Transformed Venezuela & Survived U.S.-Backed Coup, Now Leaves Uncertainty Behind

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Elias Jaua, Henrique Capriles, Evo Morales, Dilma Rousseff, Ollanta Humala, Amy Goodman - Mar. 06 (News Report) - With the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez after a two-year fight with cancer, we host a roundtable discussion on a revolutionary leader whose democratic-socialist policies not only transformed his country, but helped steer the entire Latin American region away from U.S.-backed neoliberalism. We're joined by five guests: Miguel Tinker Salas, Pomona College professor and author of two books on Venezuela; Venezuelan-American attorney Eva Golinger, a friend and adviser to Chávez; New York University professor and author Greg Grandin; Gregory Wilpert, founder of Venezuelanalysis.com; and Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based policy forum on Western Hemisphere affairs. We spend the hour on the life of Chávez, his legacy, and what may come next in Venezuela. [includes rush transcript - partial. More to come. Check back soon.]

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Hugo Chávez: poor boy from the plains who became leftwing figurehead

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Rory Carroll - Mar. 06 (Special Report) - No one imagined it would end like this. A ravaged body, a hospital bed, a shroud of silence, invisible. Hugo Chávez's life blazed drama, a command performance, and friend and foe alike always envisaged an operatic finale.

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Op-Ed Contributor: In the End, Chávez Was an Awful Manager

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By By RORY CARROLL - Mar. 06 (Opinion) - Chavez’s real legacy wasn’t socialism, but ineptness.

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Chávez Dies, Leaving a Bitterly Divided Venezuela

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By William Neuman - Mar. 05 (Breaking News) - President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a long battle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a political crisis that grew more acute as he languished for weeks, silent and out of sight in hospitals in Havana and Caracas.

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Op-Ed Contributor: How Not to Fix Climate Change

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Joe Nocera - Feb. 19 (Opinion) - Stopping the Keystone XL oil pipeline is actually counterproductive in more ways than one.

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Venezuela's Chavez returns after treatment

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

aljazeera.com - Feb. 18 (News Report) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has returned home to Venezuela after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba after cancer surgery. Chavez, 58, announced his return in a series of messages on Monday on his Twitter account, and aides confirmed the news.

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Latin America: Region one of worst for corruption

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Christian Science Monitor - Dec. 06 (News Analysis) - Despite economic strides, two-thirds of Latin America averaged in the bottom half of the 2012 Transparency International corruption rankings. Countries like Brazil, however, offer some hope. ...

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Romney strikes out on nukes

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700

thebulletin.org - By Kingston Reif - Oct. 22 (Special Report) - Does this mean Romney will halt the Phased Adaptive Approach? Restore the Bush administration's European missile defense proposal? Pursue an East Coast US missile defense site? Build more long-range interceptors in Alaska and California? No one, perhaps not even Romney himself, knows.

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Assange 'to emerge from embassy'

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Aug. 19 (News) - Julian Assange is expected to appear outside London's Ecuadorean embassy to speak about the diplomatic row over him being granted asylum.

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Chavez arrives in Cuba for cancer treatment

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Aljazeera - Jul. 17 (News Report) - Chavez, who will receive chemotherapy for the disease which was diagnosed in Havana about a month ago, arrived in Cuba on Sunday following a legislative vote approving his trip on Friday. "I am going to delegate some decisions that until now were mine, signatures and decisions, to vice president Elias Jaua and Jorge Giordani," Chavez said during a televised cabinet meeting before his departure. Chavez, 56, said doctors have found no more malignant cells in his body following earlier cancer surgery.

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Noam Chomsky denounces old friend Hugo Chávez for 'assault' on democracy

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Rory Carroll - Jul. 03 (Opinion) - Renowned American intellectual accuses the Venezuelan leader of concentrating too much power in his own hands Hugo Chávez has long considered Noam Chomsky one of his best friends in the west. He has basked in the renowned scholar's praise for Venezuela's socialist revolution and echoed his denunciations of US imperialism. Venezuela's president, who hasrevealed that he has had surgery in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumour, turned one of Chomsky's books into an overnight bestseller after brandishing it during a UN speech. He hosted Chomsky in Caracas with smiles and pomp. Earlier this year Chávez even suggested Washington make Chomsky the US ambassador to Venezuela. The president may be about to have second thoughts about that, because his favourite intellectual has now turned his guns on Chávez. Speaking to the Observer last week, Chomsky has accused the socialist leader of amassing too much power and of making an "assault" on Venezuela's democracy. "Concentration of executive power, ...

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Why Washington is worried about Peru | Mark Weisbrot

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Mark Weisbrot - Jun. 02 (Opinion) - If its preferred candidate Keiko Fujimori loses to Ollanta Humala, the US will be isolated against South America's left governmentsIn just a few days, on Sunday 5 June, an election will take place that will have a significant influence on the western hemisphere. At the moment, it is too close to call. Most of official Washington has been relatively quiet, but there is no doubt that the Obama administration has a big stake in the outcome of this poll. The election is in Peru, where left populist and former military officer Ollanta Humala is facing off against Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of Peru's former authoritarian ruler Alberto Fujimori, who was president from 1990-2000. Alberto Fujimori is in jail, serving a 25-year sentence for multiple political murders, kidnapping and corruption. Keiko has made it clear that she represents him and his administration, and has been surrounded by his associates and former officials of his government.Fujimori was found to have had "individual criminal responsibility" for the murders and kidnappings. But his government was responsible for many more widespread murders and human rights abuses, including the forced sterilisation of tens of thousands of women, mostly indigenous.Between the two candidates, whom do you think Washington would prefer?If you guessed Keiko Fujimori, you guessed right. I spoke Monday night with Gustavo Gorriti in Lima, an award-winning Peruvian investigative journalist who was one of the people that Alberto Fujimori was convicted of kidnapping. "The US embassy strongly opposes Humala's candidacy," he said. Harvard professor of government Steven Levitsky, who has written extensively on Peru and is currently visiting professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), came to the same conclusion: "It's clear that the US embassy here sees Keiko as the least bad option," he told me from Lima on Tuesday.Humala's opponents argue that Peru's democracy would be imperilled if he were elected, pointing to a military revolt that he led against Fujimori's authoritarian government. (He was later pardoned by the Peruvian Congress.) But his record is hardly comparable to the actual, proven crimes of Alberto Fujimori.Humala is also accused of being an ally of Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez. He has distanced himself from Chávez, unlike in his 2006 campaign for the presidency. But all of this is just a rightwing media stunt. Chávez has been demonised throughout the hemispheric media, and so rightwing media monopolies have used him as a bogeyman in numerous elections for years, with varying degrees of success. Of course, Venezuela is also irrelevant to the Peruvian election because almost all governments in South America are "allies of Chávez". This is especially true of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Uruguay, for example, all of whom have very close and collaborative relations with Venezuela.As in many other elections in Latin America, rightwing domination of the media is key to successful scare tactics. "The majority of TV stations and newspapers have been actively working for Fujimori in this election," said Levitsky.The thought of another Fujimori government is so frightening that a number of prominent conservative Peruvian politicians have decided to endorse Humala. Among these is the Nobel prize-winning novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, who hates the Latin American left as much as anyone. Humala has also been endorsed by Alejandro Toledo, the former Peruvian president and contender in the first round of this election.So why would Washington want Fujimori? The answer is quite simple: it's about Washington's waning influence and power in its former "backyard" of Latin America. In South America, there are now left-of-centre governments in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. These governments have a common position on most hemispheric issues (and sometimes, other international issues, such as the Middle East), and it often differs from that of Washington.For example, when the Honduran military overthrew the country's elected left-of-centre president, Manuel Zelaya, in 2009, and the Obama administration sought to legitimise the coup government through elections that other governments would not recognise, it was Washington's few rightwing allies that first broke ranks with the rest of South America.Prior to last August, the only governments in South America that Washington could count as allies were Chile, Peru and Colombia. But Colombia under President Manuel Santos is no longer a reliable ally, and currently has very good co-operative relations with Venezuela. If Humala wins, there is little doubt that he will join the rest of South America on most issues of concern to Washington. The same cannot be said of Keiko Fujimori.And that is why Washington is worried about this election.PeruVenezuelaUS foreign policyUnited StatesColombiaEcuadorBrazilHuman rightsHondurasHugo ChávezMark Weisbrotguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Latin America shakes off the US yoke | Mark Weisbrot

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Mark Weisbrot - Apr. 08 - The current spat with Ecuador is symptomatic of Washington's failure to grasp that it no longer exercises regional hegemonyOn Thursday the United States expelled the ambassador from Ecuador, in retaliation for Wednesday's expulsion of the US ambassador from Ecuador. This now leaves the United States without ambassadorial relations in three South American countries – Bolivia and Venezuela being the other two – thus surpassing the Bush administration in its diplomatic problems in the region.US Ambassador Heather Hodges was declared "persona non grata" and asked to leave Ecuador "as soon as possible", after a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks showed her saying some disparaging things about Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa. In the cable, she alleges that President Correa had knowledge of corruption by a former head of the national police. Although the Bush administration intervened in the internal affairs of countries such as Bolivia and even Brazil, it was somewhat better at keeping its "eyes on the prize" and avoiding fights that would distract from its main goal. The prize, of course, is Venezuela – home to the largest oil reserves in the world, estimated by the US Geological Survey at 500bn barrels. Washington's goal there for the last decade has been regime change. The Bush team understood that the more they fought with other countries in the region, the less credible would be their public relations story that Venezuela was the problem.It's nothing personal, really – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez could have chosen to be the perfect diplomat and he would still be treated in much the same manner by the US government. And it's not the oil itself, since Venezuela still sells the US more than 1m barrels a day and there is a world market for oil, in any case. It's just that any country with that much oil is going to have regional influence; and Washington just doesn't want to deal with someone who has regional influence and doesn't line up with its own goals for the region – not if it can get rid of them. (This simple observation explains a lot about US relations with some other oil states: for example, Iran.) And they have come close to getting rid of Chávez, in the 2002 coup – so they are not giving up.But Washington is losing ground there, too. A big blow was the change in Colombia's foreign policy last summer, when President Juan Manuel Santos took office. An important part of Washington's strategy in Venezuela is to maintain tension between Colombia and Venezuela. They have a head start on this project since the 2,000km border between the two countries has been plagued by paramilitary and guerrilla violence for decades. Conflict between Venezuela and Colombia is also important to Washington's electoral strategy in Venezuela. When there is trouble between the two countries, as in 2009, when Venezuela cut off bilateral trade in response to the US effort to expand its military presence in Colombia, it has a negative impact on a lot of Venezuelans in border states. This helps garner some anti-Chávez votes in border states, as in last year's congressional election in Venezuela. And accusations of Venezuelan support for the Farc guerrillas in Colombia – despite Washington's failure to offer any evidence – are a key element of bringing its anti-Venezuela efforts under the "war on terror" umbrella.Although Colombia's previous president, Álvaro Uribe, was – in recent years – very much allied with the United States' strategy toward Venezuela, Santos immediately rejected it and decided immediately to make peace with Chávez. This turned out to be quite easy to do, despite their past fights when Santos was Uribe's defence minister. As anyone who follows Venezuela knows, Chávez is friendly to any head of state or government that is friendly to Venezuela. Santos's U-turn towards Venezuela is very interesting for several reasons. First, it shows how important regional economic integration is as a force for peace and stability in the area. The attempt by Washington and Santos's predecessor to expand the US military presence in Colombia led to a cutoff of $2.3bn of Colombia's exports to what had recently become their second most important trading partner, Venezuela. This was more than 11% of Colombia's exports, and the bulk of it was in livestock and textile products for which replacement markets were not so readily available. Venezuela also has very close relations with Brazil and most of the rest of South America, and they all felt the same way about Colombia's foreign policy. They were especially concerned about the US military expansion in Colombia – and even more opposed after US Air Force documents made it clear that this expansion was for "mobility operations … on the South American continent" and against the "constant threat" from "anti-US governments". Santos was basically faced with a choice of continuing to do Washington's bidding or being part of South America. He chose South America. The key role of commerce here, as South America continues to integrate economically, illustrates some of the most important "gains from trade". These are far greater than the neoclassical "efficiency gains", often exaggerated by advocates of "free trade" agreements. Also, Santos's choice to rejoin South America shows how geopolitical changes led by the left governments of the region have now encompassed even rightwing governments. This is a result of changes in institutions (foreign ministries, multilateral organisations such as Unasur, the Rio Group), ideas, and norms that have taken place over the last decade.Now comes Washington, demanding that Colombia extradite one Walid Makled, an accused Venezuelan narco-trafficker arrested in Colombia, to the United States. No, thank you, says President Santos – this guy goes to Venezuela. Santos cites Colombian law, stating that, first, Colombia has an extradition treaty with Venezuela, not with the United States; second, Venezuela got their extradition request in first; and third, Makled is wanted for more serious crimes (including murder) in Venezuela than in the US (drug-trafficking). All of these are facts that legally require extradition of Makled to Venezuela.This is most infuriating to Washington. To understand why this is so important to the state department, one has to look behind official pronouncements about Makled getting "a free and fair trial" in Venezuela and other nonsense repeated with charming innocence by the major media. Venezuela has a presidential election next year. For every important election or referendum in Venezuela – and there are many, but none more important to Washington than this one – there is an international media campaign, with the participation of the US government. (A recent WikiLeaks cable shows the Colombian government sharing with US officials its coordinated media campaign to link both Chávez and Correa to the Colombian Farc guerrillas.) Makled has already offered to sing about alleged corruption of Venezuelan officials (note that we haven't heard anything about his dealings with Colombian officials – there must not be any narco-corruption there), but only if he is extradited to the US. So, if they could only get him to Miami, they could have a splendid show trial that would be better than any international media campaign that the state department could organise.If all that seems like it's not worth the trouble, it's exactly what happened in 2008. US authorities used a sketchy show trial of a Venezuelan slapped with dubious "failing to register as a foreign agent" charges – but not with actual espionage – in order to broadcast allegations of corruption at the "highest levels" of the Venezuelan government. The allegations made headlines throughout the hemisphere and, of course, were a mainstay of the Venezuelan opposition-dominated media. Just think what the Makled trial could do: no one would ask what the witnesses were offered for their testimony, or whether there was any corroborating evidence for their allegations. It would be one big free-for-all smear-fest, with reporters gobbling it all up.But Santos is not co-operating, despite enormous pressure and, of course, the currently pending "free trade" agreement between the US and Colombia. Perhaps Washington wants this agreement more than he does.In any case, the Obama administration – like its predecessor – is fighting a losing battle. President Obama's recent trip to Latin America was hardly more successful than those of Bush. He gets better press – no riots in the streets or Mayan leaders cleansing the site with sage after his visit. But every president and foreign minister there can see that US policies haven't changed one bit.VenezuelaEcuadorWikiLeaksThe US embassy cablesUS foreign policyUnited StatesColombiaDrugs tradeHugo ChávezBrazilObama administrationExtraditionMark Weisbrotguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Iran Placing Medium-Range Missiles in Venezuela; Can Reach the U.S.

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Hudson New York - By Anna Mahjar-Barducci - Dec. 08 (News Report) - Iran is planning to place medium-range missiles on Venezuelan soil, based on western information sources, according to an article in the German daily, Die Welt, of November 25, 2010. According to the article, an agreement between the two countries was signed during the last visit o Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Tehran on October 19, 2010. The previously undisclosed contract provides for the establishment of a jointly operated military base in Venezuela, and the joint development of ground-to-ground missiles.

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Amazon Indians hit by deadly epidemic

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Ian James - Oct. 31 (News) - Malaria-like illness kills dozens, many of them children, in three villages. Venezuelan health workers say an epidemic that may be malaria has killed dozens of people.

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Russia puts missiles in Abkhazia

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Aug. 11 (News Report) - Russia has pledged financial and military support to the breakaway region Russia says it has deployed S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in the breakaway region of Abkhazia in Georgia. The Georgian government - which refuses to acknowledge Abkhazia's

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Full Frame: Diamonds in the rough

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

GlobalPost - By Gustavo Jononovich - Aug. 01 (Special Report) - Photos of the Venezuelan jungle, where miners illegally dig for gold and diamonds.read more

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No place for Washington in Colombia-Venezuela row | Mark Weisbrot

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Mark Weisbrot - Jul. 28 (Opinion) - A process of South American diplomacy could resolve the Colombia-Venezuela dispute. The US should keep its distanceIn March I wrote about the Obama administration's contribution to the election campaign under way in Venezuela, where voters will choose a new national assembly in September. I predicted that certain things would happen before September, among them some new "discoveries" that Venezuela supports terrorism. Venezuela has had 13 elections or referenda since Hugo Chávez was first elected in 1998, and in the run-up to most of them, Washington has usually done something to influence the political and media climate.The intentions were already clear on March 11, when General Douglas Fraser, the head of the US Southern Command was testifying to the US Senate. In response to a question from Senator John McCain about Venezuela's alleged support for terrorism, Fraser said:"We have continued to watch very closely … We have not seen any connections specifically that I can verify that there has been a direct government-to-terrorist connection."The next day he recanted his testimony after meeting with the US state department's top official for Latin America, Arturo Valenzuela.This made it clear that the "terrorist" message was going to be a very important part of Washington's campaign. Even the Bush administration had never forced its military officers to retract their statements when they contradicted the state department's political agenda in Latin America, which they sometimes did.Unfortunately, the campaign continues. Last Thursday, Colombia's ambassador to the Organisation of the American States (OAS) accused Venezuela at an extraordinary meeting of the OAS of harbouring 1,500 guerillas, and asked for the OAS to take action. The timing was noteworthy to many observers. President Lula da Silva of Brazil noted that it "seemed strange that this occurs a few days before [President] Uribe [of Colombia] leaves office. The new president has given signals that he wants to build peace [with Venezuela]. Everything was going well until Uribe made this denunciation."Venezuela responded by breaking diplomatic relations with Colombia. It had previously cut off much of its trade with Colombia over the past two years, in response to Colombia's agreement with Washington to expand its military presence at seven US military bases in Colombia. Since Venezuela had been Colombia's largest trading partner in the region, it is possible that the new president, Juan Manuel Santos, was looking to improve relations for business reasons if nothing else. He had invited Chávez to his inauguration.Of course, Uribe does not necessarily take orders from Washington, but it would be naive to assume that someone who has received more than $6bn from the US would not check with his benefactors before doing something like this. The fact that the US state department immediately took Colombia's side in the dispute is further indication that they approved. Even Washington's (rightwing) allies in the region did not take sides, with the government of Chile, for example, issuing a neutral statement; this would have been the normal diplomatic protocol for Washington too, if this were not part of a political and public relations campaign against Venezuela.Other governments clearly saw Colombia's action as a political move, and were upset with what looked like the OAS being manipulated for these purposes. President Lula was cited in the Brazilian press saying that the venue of the dispute should be moved to Unasur, because the US would tilt the negotiations toward Colombia and against Venezuela. Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, strongly criticised the head of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, for not having consultation before granting Colombia's request for a meeting of the OAS permanent council. Patiño said that Insulza had shown his "absolute incapacity" to direct the organisation and to "look for peace in the region". Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, had even harsher rhetoric for Uribe, calling him "a loyal representative of the US government, with its military bases in Colombia designed to provoke a war between Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua."This dispute highlights the importance of the institutional changes that the left-of-centre governments in Latin America are trying to make. The increasing importance of Unasur, displacing the OAS, has become vital to Latin American progress and stability. For example, because of the influence of the US (as usual, with a handful of rightwing allies) in the OAS, it failed to take stronger action to restore the democratically elected government of President Zelaya of Honduras last year.When Bolivia was having problems with attempts by the separatist, extra-parliamentary opposition – including violence and de-stabilisation efforts – it was Unasur that met in Santiago in September 2008 and threw its weight behind the democratic government of Evo Morales. When the US decided last fall to expand its presence at the military bases in Colombia, Unasur reached an agreement – which included Colombia – that prohibited these bases from being used for any actions outside of the country.As to the substance of Colombia's latest claims, guerillas and paramilitaries have been crossing the 2,000km border with Venezuela – much of it dense jungle, mountains and all kinds of difficult terrain – for decades. There is no evidence that anything has changed recently, and nothing to indicate that the Venezuelan government, which has extradited guerillas to Colombia, supports any armed groups – as General Fraser testified before he was apparently forced to take it back.On Tuesday Insulza – perhaps feeling like he had gone too far to please Washington – told CNN en Español that "the guerrillas come and go, and it is quite difficult to ask just one country to control the border … Uribe says he doesn't know why Venezuela doesn't detain the guerillas, but the truth is that Colombia can't control them either." He might have added that the US, with all its vastly greater resources and superior technology, doesn't have an easy time controlling the flow of drugs, guns, and people across its own much more manageable border with Mexico.On Thursday there will be an emergency meeting of Unasur, and hopefully a process of diplomacy will begin to resolve the dispute. Certainly there will be a better chance of success to the extent that Washington – and its political campaigns against governments that it doesn't like – can be kept at a distance.US foreign policyVenezuelaColombiaObama administrationUnited StatesMark Weisbrotguardian.co.uk ? Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Hugo Chávez revolution mired by claims of corruption

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Rory Carroll - Apr. 19 (News) - Ex-socialist star Wilmer Azuaje joins tide of protest against alleged corruption of inner-circle Wilmer Azuaje was a young firebrand when he joined Hugo Chávez?s revolution a decade ago to topple Venezuela?s corrupt ruling class. He was elected to the national assembly and worked with the president?s family to turn their home state of Barinas, a rural backwater of cattle ranches, into a laboratory of change. Azuaje was inspired by Chávez?s promise to sweep away a history of graft and patronage which had stunted an oil-driven economy. "I believed in the process of reform," said Azuaje. Not anymore. The baby-faced protege, once a rising star in the ruling party, has now become the Chávez family?s most outspoken foe. "They turned out to ...

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China pours its wealth into Latin America

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Rory Carroll - Apr. 19 (News) - Once almost invisible in Latin America, China has seen its trade here rise from $10bn a year in 2000 to well over $100bn today. Latin officials are rolling out the red carpet to Chinese delegations and hopping on planes not only to Beijing but also Guangzhou, Nanking and Shanghai. Unlike the Russians, who grab attention by sending warships to visit anti-US leaders, such as Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, but struggle to deliver economic deals, the Chinese are all business. They are importing soy from Argentina, copper from Chile, iron ore from Brazil and zinc from Peru, and export clothes, cars and electronic equipment across the region. The trade helped Latin America to weather the global economic crisis, but there is concern about a "neo-colonial" pattern in which the region's commodities are sucked abroad while industry loses out to cheap imports aided by China's undervalued currency. When Argentina accused China of dumping goods, Beijing bared its teeth and banned Argentine soya oil, citing safety concerns.

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Venezuela marks its bicentenary

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Apr. 19 (News) - Celebrations take place in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to mark 200 years since the country's independence.

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Democracy hangs by a thread in Honduras

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Independent - By Hugh O'Shaughnessy - Jul. 19 (News Report) - The international group of right-wingers who staged the coup d'état against the democratic government of Honduras on 28 June are watching their plot fast unravel. There is stiffening international opposition to their protégé, Roberto Micheletti, who, in his capacity as President of Congress, ordered President Manuel Zelaya to be expelled from the country by plane in his pyjamas.

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