Axis of Logic
Finding Clarity in the 21st Century Mediaplex

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
A discussion of President Hugo Chávez Frias and Venezuela on Democracy Now!
By Various participants. Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Wednesday, Mar 6, 2013

With the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez after a two-year fight with cancer, we host a roundtable discussion on a revolutionary leader whose democratic-socialist policies not only transformed his country, but helped steer the entire Latin American region away from U.S.-backed neoliberalism. We’re joined by five guests: Miguel Tinker Salas, Pomona College professor and author of two books on Venezuela; Venezuelan-American attorney Eva Golinger, a friend and adviser to Chávez; New York University professor and author Greg Grandin; Gregory Wilpert, founder of Venezuelanalysis.com; and Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based policy forum on Western Hemisphere affairs. We spend the hour on the life of Chávez, his legacy, and what may come next in Venezuela.

Guests:

Miguel Tinker Salas, professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is the author of The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela and the forthcoming Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know.

Eva Golinger, friend and adviser to President Hugo Chávez, who referred to her as the "girlfriend of Venezuela." She’s a lawyer and author of numerous books, including The Chávez Code: Cracking U.S. Intervention in Venezuela. She edits the English-language edition of the Venezuelan newspaper Correo del Orinoco and hosts a weekly program on RT called Behind the News.

Gregory Wilpert, founder of venezuelanalysis.com and author of Changing Venezuela by Taking Power: The History and Policies of the Chávez Government.

Greg Grandin, Cullman fellow at the New York Public Library. He is the author of Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism. His most recent book, Fordlandia, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. His new book, Empire of Necessity, will be published later this year.

Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based policy forum on Western Hemisphere affairs. He is also an adjunct professor of Latin American politics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.