General News

What is really happening in Venezuela?

By |

I just returned from 11 days in Venezuela, my sixth trip there since 2005. Many people have asked me how they can understand what’s really happening in Venezuela based on information from public institutions such as the U.S. government and the mainstream media. Sources they have used include television ranging from Fox News to MSNBC and CNN; newspapers from the New York Times to more “progressive” publications; and radio from private ad-based to public listener-supported stations. In order to analyze information today and in the future, there are three key points that most people in the United States and in Venezuela can agree on. 1 – No war.

Politics & Society

Women in Power, South American Style

By |

In the past 10 years, three women were elected – and reelected – as presidents of Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. They are, from left to right in the photo, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Michelle Bachelet, and Dilma Rousseff. (See mini-bios in Notes below.)
Unlike Margaret Thatcher, the first and only female Prime Minister of Great Britain, or Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States, these three women are not conservatives. They were elected as part of the “Pink Tide” that swept much of South America following the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela. Women in power in South America is not what I would have expected when I was in school.

Politics & Society

Political Revolution, South American Style

By |

To achieve a political revolution – effecting a real change in society’s priorities – it is vital to have some hope that such a change is even possible. Latin America, and particularly South America, shows us that it is possible. Voters in South America have elected presidents who were not the U.S. first choice. That is good news for the people of South America. As John Perkins’ book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man detailed, heads of state who were cozy with the United States arranged loans for U.S. contractors to develop projects that locals did not want or need, but which were paid for with resources – natural and financial – that otherwise would benefit the people.

General News

Trumbo, Bernie, and Communist Dictators

By |

Especially since Hugo Chavez was elected President of Venezuela in 1998, many countries in Latin America have been moving beyond progressive politics toward socialism. The list includes, to varying degrees, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela. These governments have shown themselves to be more stable than when Latin America was much more solidly the backyard of the United States. Socialist-leaning presidents have been elected and reelected again and again. Even in the United States there is a shift in the wind that is breaking up the TINA lie articulated by Margaret Thatcher, “there is no alternative.”

General News

Venezuelans Face Off in Crucial December 6 Elections

By |

Before we dive into problems with elections, I will say this: there are solutions. I need to pull out this long-time campaign slogan of mine as a reminder to myself and everyone else. You will see the section “There Are Solutions” below. As to the problems… A friend sent me an Associated Press news article with the conniving title “Opposition gains as Chavez family loses supporters on its home turf.”

General News

What will happen to Cuba after normalization with the United States?

By |

Cuban President Raúl Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama announced almost a year ago that we would begin the process of normalization of relations between the two countries, after more than 50 years of strained relationships including a U.S. embargo. It is no surprise that experts can’t agree on what will happen. Diplomatic relations with Cuba will be unlike diplomatic relations with any other country. Cuba is unique and fascinating in many areas: geography, environment, history, politics, and culture. While there are daunting challenges ahead, I will focus this piece on strengths I gained awareness of during my first trip to Cuba in April 2015.

Education

Ten Things I Learned from Hugo Chávez

By |

Chávez was a democratically elected president, elected by a wide margin after running as an outsider in Venezuela’s fixed two-party system. His first acts as president were to wipe out illiteracy, establish healthcare clinics in the poorest barrios, and create a brand new constitution based on citizen input and participatory democracy. I wish our democratically elected presidents and governors would build our hopes up by empowering us with better education, healthcare for all, and new rules to improve rather than degrade our democracy.