Venezuela isn’t a cheesy soft-porn novel. The international community has to realize there are no shades of gray in Venezuela anymore. For all its flaws, one side is democratic; the other is just plain autocratic.
While Nicaragua may hold a free election, President Ortega has ensured it won’t be democratic. All that remains to be seen is just how long they take to announce the winner.
Yes, I get the comparison in terms of their rhetorical styles. But the caricature of Chávez as just an uncouth blowhard is downright insulting to Venezuelans who now live with his toxic legacy.
Despite relatively better human rights records and environmental protection policies, Latin America and the Caribbean lead the world in murders of environmental activists. Why?
In Venezuela, Honduras, Egypt, and—most recently—Turkey, the armed forces have pointed to violations of the constitution by sitting, elected presidents as the justification for a coup. But are coups ever constitutional?
Did I miss something? No collective call for dialogue, not even a meeting wrap up by the Ambassador from Argentina. Just a call for lunch. Does that make the whole endeavor of convening the Permanent Council to discuss Venezuela a bust? Hardly.
It was a cringingly awkward moment. After their press conference, Cuban President Raul Castro clumsily grabbed Obama’s arm and attempted to lift it into the classic raised fist of revolutionary struggle. Embedded in the viral image is the difference between what each leader needed to get and convey from the historic visit.
Whatever you may think of Evo Morales and his time in power, Bolivian voters’ narrow rejection of a constitutional amendment to allow him to run again is a good thing for the country’s politics and even Morales’ legacy.
La democracia tiene un solo camino: el compromiso con los derechos garantizados a todos los ciudadanos del país. Su esencia es proteger los derechos y las decisiones del pueblo respecto a un gobierno que podría abusar de su poder, ignorando o rechazando los resultados de la elección. Esto es de extrema seriedad porque constituiría la violación de principios fundamentales.
