In this week’s News Roundup…Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski announces his candidacy for the 2012 presidential elections in Venezuela, which prompts President Chávez to launch a smear campaign against opposition candidates; analysts debate how to define Venezuela’s government; and Mr. Chávez offers yet another unique perspective on foreign policy, denouncing the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Governor to Challenge Venezuela’s Chavez in 2012, Voice of America
The governor of Venezuela’s Miranda state says he plans to run for the presidency next year, challenging President Hugo Chavez. Governor Henrique Capriles made the announcement Tuesday, saying he wants to be “president of all Venezuelans.” Capriles also said he would seek the endorsement of a divided opposition to challenge President Chavez, who has been in office since 1999 and is seeking a new six-year term.
Chávez launches charm offensive against rivals, Financial Times
Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president for the past 12 years, has made much of his desire to rule beyond 2030 in order to complete his socialist revolution and claims he will “smash” his opponents in the oil-rich country’s next elections.Yet there may be more than a little hubris in those plans. Polls show that if those elections – not due until December 2012 – were held this weekend the firebrand leader would actually lose.
Is Hugo Chavez an idiot? Washington Post Blog
When I was in Moscow last year, I paid a visit to Boris Nemtsov, one of the leading figures of the Russian opposition. Naturally, I had come to Nemtsov to discuss Russian politics. But the conversation quickly turned to, of all things, Venezuelan economics.
Coronel: Is Venezuela a Dictatorship? Latin American Herald Tribune
Some of the most sophisticated political analysts currently writing about Venezuela are defining Hugo Chavez’s regime, either as a “procedural democracy” (Luis Vicente Leon, chief analyst at Datanalisis, a Venezuelan polling firm) or as a “hybrid regime” (Javier Corrales and Michael Penfold: “Dragon in the Tropics”, Brookings Institution Press, 2011), but definitely not as a clear-cut dictatorship. As a Venezuelan who has been closely living and watching our nightmare for the last 13 years and who has done his fair share of reading on what constitutes a democracy or a dictatorship, I find this tendency appalling.
Venezuela Foreign Ministry Asks UN To Condemn Libya Airstrikes, NASDAQ
The Venezuelan government Monday asked the United Nations to condemn the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s bombing of what it called its sister nation, Libya. A statement released by the country’s Foreign Ministry criticized what it called the NATO-led “imperialist coalition” for the recent airstrikes that killed a son and three grandchildren of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Venezuela denounces killing of bin Laden, Foreign Policy
As the world has reacted — largely with a mixture of relief and jubilation — at the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, Venezuela yesterday issued its own statement: “Venezuela Rejects Use of Terror to Fight Terrorism.”
US to examine possible sanctions against Venezuela, El Universal
The US House of Representative’s Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing to examine the Venezuelan government activity and determine whether it must be subject to sanctions. The hearing, which will be attended by senior US administration officials, was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, but was postponed due to the death of Saudi terrorist Osama Bin Laden, which forced the Congress to change the agenda.
Venezuela oil tax to net billions before Chavez vote, Reuters
New Venezuelan taxes on windfall oil revenue will let socialist President Hugo Chavez boost spending on popular social programs by billions of dollars ahead of his re-election bid next year. They set a top rate of 95 percent on some oil income and are Chavez’s latest move to increase the state’s share of the OPEC member’s main export. During 12 years in power he has nationalized most of the South American nation’s oil industry.