Word: ch
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Washington started off on the wrong foot with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shortly after he took office in 1999. Embarking on his first international tour as head of state, Chávez took a call from a high-ranking Clinton Administration official, who told the Venezuelan leader that it would be better for his country's relations with the U.S. if he avoided visiting Fidel Castro in Cuba. Chávez, a left-wing nationalist, had yet to develop his gushing friendship with Castro, but like other leaders all over Latin America - even those who dislike the Cuban leader...
...Walsh says Chávez already has inordinate control over the nation's legislative and judicial branches. If, as most expect, Chávez moves now to radicalize his socialist project, he could enervate them even more. Chávez's former ambassador to the U.S., Bernardo Alvarez, disagrees: "Chávez has had every opportunity in the world the past 10 years to become a dictator, and he hasn't done it," he says. "Instead he's created a real democracy here for a change, and under him those institutions will continue to strengthen...
...There has yet to be any reaction from the State Department but, before the vote, the State said simply that the referendum was an internal matter for the Venezuelans to decide upon. Despite declaring during his campaign last year that he'd be willing to meet with Chávez, U.S. President Barack Obama in a recent interview was critical of the Venezuelan and his stridently anti-U.S. stance. Washington will now watch to see if Chávez, who controls the western hemisphere's largest oil reserves, can retain his boisterous influence in the Americas - and survive politically...
...Chávez could also lose political steam at home if Obama doesn't provide him with a convenient U.S. foil for his fiery nationalistic rhetoric, as President George W. Bush so often did. Chávez recently remarked that Obama seemed to have the "same stench" as Bush, but over the weekend said he'd be willing to meet with the new U.S. leader before the Summit of the Americas in April in Trinidad. Obama has already invited Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the White House next month, a sign that he'd prefer to deal...
...Read a recent TIME magazine story on Ch...