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Articles on Hugo Chávez

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The late Hugo Chavez and Donald Trump share similarities in their attempts to use illness for political gain. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Donald Trump, Hugo Chávez: Using illness for political gain and to erode democracy

Even though they occupied different ends of the political spectrum, Donald Trump and the late Hugo Chávez share one thing in common — their attempts to use illness to benefit them politically.
Many of Latin America’s leftist ‘revolutions’ are now in crisis. But the left is resurging in some countries. The Conversation / Photo Claudia Daut/Reuters

The Latin American left isn’t dead yet

Progressives are leading in the presidential elections of Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia, bucking the region’s recent rightward trend. But there are lessons in the failures of leftists past.
A line of cars spills on to the street as drivers wait to fill their tanks at a fuel station in Cabimas, Venezuela, in May 2019. U.S. sanctions on oil-rich Venezuela appear to be taking hold, resulting in mile-long lines for fuel and other hardships. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Canada’s misguided Venezuela policy and the inhumanity of sanctions

The devastating costs of economic sanctions on Venezuela are being ignored or disregarded. So too is the lack of a legal basis for international intervention.
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro throws his handkerchief into a crowd of supporters at an anti-imperialist rally for peace in Caracas, Venezuela, in March 2019. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Oil’s corrosive impact on democracy is the true socialist gateway drug

During the Cold War, socialism was portrayed as a gateway drug to communist orthodoxy. The crisis in Venezuela has resurrected tired old tropes about “pinks” and “useful idiots.”
Venezuelan President Maduro gestures to military leaders to keep their eyes open following a news conference at the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

The Venezuelan army’s staunch loyalty to an illegitimate dictator

Venezuela’s military is an armed political actor with a gun to the head of a society that is urgently demanding a return to democracy.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was a major financier of Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, seen here at a 2016 commemoration on the third anniversary of the socialist leader’s death. Reuters/Marco Bello

Venezuelan oil fueled the rise and fall of Nicaragua’s Ortega regime

Cheap Venezuelan oil boosted Nicaragua’s economy and funded President Daniel Ortega’s many anti-poverty programs. With Venezuela in crisis, the oil has dried up – as has support for Ortega’s regime.
Fewer than 20 countries worldwide have recognized the re-election of Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela’s president. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Venezuela is now a dictatorship

Maduro’s landslide May 20 re-election marks the official death of democracy in Venezuela. Dozens of nations worldwide have declared the vote illegitimate, and the US imposed new sanctions.
AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan

Inside Venezuela’s crisis: 7 essential reads

How to understand the economic, political and humanitarian crisis that has brought a South American nation to its knees.
Venezuela urgently needs financial assistance, but the regime of Nicolás Maduro has few international allies. AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan

Nobody is going to bail out Venezuela

China, Russia and the International Monetary Fund are among those contemplating a Venezuela bailout. But help for this debt-stricken nation seems far from assured.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (center) attends a graduation of National Armed Forces. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

How much longer will Maduro’s grip on power last? Look to the military

The loyalty of Venezuela’s soldiers is getting shaky. History shows from the Arab Spring to Latin American coups, when the military withdraws support for a leader, a fall from power is imminent.

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