According to Venezuela’s constitution, Hugo Chavez—elected president for an unprecedented fourth term in October 2012—must be sworn in as president on January 10, but it will not happen. Like so many constitutional principles in Venezuela, this requirement, according to Vice President Nicolas Maduro, is just a “formality.” Never mind the …
Over the holidays, Venezuelans continued to receive increasingly grim news regarding the health of President Hugo Chavez. Current Vice President and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro rushed to Havana and reported back that Chavez had suffered “new complications” and that the President remains in a “delicate” condition following his fourth round …
One week after Hugo Chavez stunned his nation with news of new cancer surgery and anointed Vice President and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro as his heir, Venezuelans went to the polls to elect 23 governors and members of state legislatures. Initial electoral results indicate that Chavez’s candidates won in 20 …
On December 8, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced his immediate return to Havana for a fourth round of cancer surgery. Chavez’s emergency return to Cuba for a fresh operation, the latest round of treatments there, and increasingly infrequent public appearances have left Venezuelans wondering who will be in charge of …
Just weeks after his October presidential electoral victory, Hugo Chavez is returning to Cuba for unspecified cancer treatment. The brief announcement of his return appears to contradict Chavez’s campaign reassurances that he had conquered cancer. Prior to the October 7 elections, Chavez, president since 1999, did all in his power …
Trade policy with China was again front and center in last night’s presidential debate, with President Obama defending his Administration’s trade policies. In particular, the President highlighted the number of cases his Administration has prosecuted at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as his signature trade achievement: [We] set up a …
On October 7, Hugo Chavez won re-election as president of Venezuela for another six-year term. While accolades continue to pour in from Russia, Cuba, Bolivia, and other unfriendly corners of the world, there is no reason to mince words: Chavez’s re-election was a sad defeat for liberal democracy, economic freedom, …
On October 7, millions of Venezuelans will vote for the man who will lead their country for the next six years. Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s populist, authoritarian Goliath, is confident of victory. Despite battling cancer and working overtime to hide the consequences of 13 years of mismanagement, incompetence, and corruption, he …
In his generally disappointing September 25 address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama trotted out a number of fundamental American principles. He called for a world able to “live with liberty, dignity, justice and opportunity,” and defended “universal values.” He urged an end to “the politics of division” …
