George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Other times, people remember the past too well and seek to relive and recreate it. Communism is the greatest killer the world has ever known, as the Black Book of Communism documents thoroughly.

But, all the same, it did confer almost absolute power on those who were "more equal" than others. This, no doubt, is Hugo Chavez's model.

President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that his government's sweeping reforms toward socialism will include the creation of "collective property."

Vowing to undermine capitalism's continued influence in Venezuela during his television and radio program "Hello President," Chavez said state-financed cooperatives would operate under a new concept in which workers would share profits.

"It's property that belongs to everyone and it's going to benefit everyone," said Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro whom opponents accuse of leading Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism.

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Posted at 8:15 PM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

U.S. laws and regulations make it near impossible for the U.S. to boost its domestic energy supplies--and cut back on oil imports--by drilling in coastal waters. But the Cubans, right in our backyard, are free to do as they like.

That's right: Cuba. The island nation long has been known for its aromatic cigars and sweet rums. But after years of limited oil production on lands around Havana and in neighboring Matanzas province, Cuba is poised for a significant expansion of its oil program into the waters that separate it from the United States. And thanks to U.S. law, Cuba's drilling partners will be working closer to Florida beaches than any American company ever could.

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Posted at 9:41 AM in Energy, Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Castro may be near death, say rumors. The Cuban government says listen only to Havana. But Havana won't talk.

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has had at least three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection and faces "a very grave prognosis," a Spanish newspaper reported Tuesday.

A Cuban diplomat in Madrid said the reports were lies and declined to comment.

"It's another lie and we are not going to talk about it. If anyone has to talk about Castro's illness it's Havana," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of official policy.

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Posted at 9:55 AM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Panelists include Reason's David Weigel and CEI's Ivan Osario.

On Tuesday, September 12, America's Future Foundation will host the Roundtable "Latin America: Which Way Now?" It was only a few years ago that the rise of Hugo Chavez seemed to signal a new Latin wave of hard leftism. Yet today paints a more complicated picture, with center-right victories in Mexico and Colombia and center-left politicians gaining traction against radicals across the region--“ even as Chavez consolidates his rule.

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Posted at 10:26 AM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Bottom news of the day.

Iran awarded Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez its highest state medal on Sunday for supporting Tehran in its nuclear standoff with the international community, while Chavez urged the world to rise up and defeat the U.S., state-run media in both countries reported....

"Let's save the human race, let's finish off the U.S. empire," Chavez said. "This (task) must be assumed with strength by the majority of the peoples of the world."

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Posted at 9:29 AM in Middle East, Latin America, Iran by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

A U.S.-based press freedom group said Wednesday that President Hugo Chavez is using the courts and legal reforms to weaken journalists critical of his leftist government.

Wrapping up a three-day visit to Venezuela, delegates from the Inter American Press Association expressed concern that threats to press freedom under Chavez could increase as Venezuela prepares for presidential elections in December.

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Posted at 9:44 AM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

The EU deploys a bizarre negotiating strategy to address Cuba's miserable human rights record.

Meeting in Luxembourg on Monday (12 June), the ministers urged Havana to "unconditionally release all political prisoners," while lamenting the fact that the prisoner numbers have increased since last year.

The Dutch delegation argued that the EU should re-consider its policy on Cuba as there are no signs of political improvement after over a year of closer ties with officials... But in the declaration itself, the bloc stressed it would "welcome the resumption of a political dialogue with the Cuban authorities," while asking every EU "high-level visitor" to raise human rights concerns with the country's officials.

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Posted at 10:27 AM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Despite his miscalculations and loss to García, Humala?s party won 45 seats in the 120-member unicameral legislature, compared to 36 for García?s APRA party. If President-Elect García doesn?t forge a coalition with other parties, Humala could block his legislative agenda. Furthermore, Venezuela?s Chávez is not likely to accept the defeat of his political ally. Venezuelan diplomats and Humala?s followers may be counted on to stir up heaps of trouble.

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Posted at 12:27 PM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Alan Garcia staged a remarkable comeback in Peru's runoff election, beating a fiery nationalist backed by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez to regain control of the country 16 years after his first presidential term ended in economic ruin and rebel violence.

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Posted at 12:27 PM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Opec ministers on Thursday united against Venezuela to reject its call to cut the oil cartel’s production as host president Hugo Chavez angered them with his anti-US rhetoric....

Mr Chavez, addressing the meeting, said: ?We are third world countries, nations that have suffered colonialism for years, we are countries that are condemned by much more powerful states,? alluding to the US.

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Posted at 5:12 PM in Energy, Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

Ideological allies of Mr. Chavez's who had been expected to win the presidencies in Mexico and Peru have plummeted in polls, as voters take offense at the Venezuelan leader's public campaigning as an insult to their respective nations' independence and sovereignty.

Moreover, the backlash is threatening to spread to other nations, including Venezuela, and Mr. Chavez's checkbook diplomacy is adding to suspicions of a man who fashions himself as a 21st-century version of South America's liberator, Simon Bolivar.

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Posted at 1:14 PM in Latin America by Andrew Grossman [?] | Permalink

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