Latin America

February 2001
Defining the “Bolivarian Revolution”: Hugo Chávez's Venezuela
by Jennifer McCoy and Laura Neuman
Hugo Chávez has taken on the mantle of the people's will. He has also taken on an ever-larger share of political power and shown an increasing interest in spreading his "Bolivarian revolution" to the downtrodden in nearby Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

February 2001
Latin America’s Volatile Financial Markets
by Jonathan Lemco and Scott B. MacDonald
The soundness of Latin America's financial health remains dependent on international capital--primarily from the United States--and commodity exports--also primarily to the United States. This dependence on the international financial environment, along with deep-seated domestic economic inequalities and structural deficiencies, means a guarded economic prognosis for the countries of the region.

February 2000
The United States and Colombia: Partners in Ambiguity
by Michael Shifter
"The Clinton administration and Congress will likely reach an agreement to increase aid to Colombia. Yet whether the agreement reflects a serious commitment with a clear strategic purpose to support Colombia and the Colombian government—or whether it merely seeks to satisfy the myriad domestic political interests and agendas involved in United States policy toward Colombia—is a critical question. It is a question, however, that can probably not abide much ambiguity."

February 2000
The Enigmatic Guerrilla: FARC's Manuel Marulanda
by Andres Cala
"Manuel Marulanda, the head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, may become the unlikely head of the first leftist guerrilla movement to achieve success in the post-cold war era. . . . "

February 2000
Democracy and Its Discontents in Fujimori's Peru
by David Scott Palmer
"The government and its supporters have concluded that Peru's continued success depends on continuity at the presidential helm. Opponents believe that five more years of President Alberto Fujimori is a recipe for disaster."

February 2000
Demystifying Venezuela's Hugo Chávez
by Jennifer L. McCoy
"The challenge for the [Chávez] administration is to devise a way to include dissenting voices and respect minority views while still carrying out the changes desired by the Venezuelan people. The alternative is a tyranny of the majority in the name of revolutionary change."

February 2000
The Hall of Mirrors: The Internet in Latin America
by Ricardo Gomez
Latin American Internet users, like those in the developed world, "may be merely surfing the labyrinth of the Library of Babel dreamt by Borges: a library in which the contents matter far less than the apparent infinity of its holdings."

February 2000
Guatemala's Precarious Peace
by David Holiday
"The Guatemalan peace process will ultimately be considered successful if it contributes to reconciliation among the many participants in the armed conflict. . . . While international human rights norms and institutions clearly support uncovering the truth about Guatemala's bloody past, such inquiries call into question the fundamental structures of military, political, and economic power in Guatemala."