Ivette Feliciano translated the following blog posts from Venezuela and Cuba:

From Profeballa, a Venezuelan blogger: “It’s been 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, when will Venezuela’s wall come down? As I’ve said before, it will fall once more Venezuelans become aware of their rights and knock it down. When they destroy the mental wall that keeps us underdeveloped…”

From Elías Amor Bravo, an anti-communist political writer: “The fall of the Berlin wall 20 years ago is a very important event for all Cubans. We shared in their optimism and were happy to see how families were reunited after decades of communism that separated them. The fall also forced the Cuban government to make changes it never intended to make, due to the absence of political, ideological, and financial resources that formerly came to the Island from the USSR. The period after the fall of the wall allowed for the free circulation of money, the authorization of private activity, although it was under rigorous control, foreign investment, and tourism…It also allowed for Cubans on the island to have more contact with family members abroad, and in turn mobilized many to organize themselves as dissidents and opposed to the government, something formerly unheard of….”

A Berlin Wall commemorative stamp.

The Argentinian website INFOBAE makes note of the Cuban government’s reaction to the date: “The official press in Cuba will ignore the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. They only recognized and celebrated the 92nd anniversary of the October Lenin revolution…”

Gizem Yarbil notes an interesting story from The Wall Street Journal about a red deer called Ahornia refusing to cross the old Iron Curtain. Ahornia inhabits the area along the border that once separated West Germany from Czechoslovakia. This area is now part of Europe’s biggest nature preserve thriving with a lively combination of wild animals that roam freely across the once fortified border. But according to the article, Ahornia is the only species that stops and turns back once it reaches the barrier zone where once an electrified fence and barbed wire used to stand. It quotes a German producer of nature films who has worked in the area says, “The wall in the head is still there.”

Contributing blogger Vadim Nikitin writes about where nostalgia is the strongest for the former Soviet Union — the Global South. Read the full post here:

According to a BBC poll published on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, “Opinion about the disintegration of the Soviet Union is sharply divided. Europeans overwhelmingly say it was a good thing: 79% in Germany, 76% in Britain and 74% in France feel that way. But outside the developed West it is a different picture. Almost seven in 10 Egyptians say the end of the Soviet Union was a bad thing and views are sharply divided in India, Kenya and Indonesia”.

This despite the fact that India and Indonesia, as well as Russia, have experienced unprecedented levels of economic growth since 1991.

What could explain such nostalgia? One factor might be a general disenchantment with free-market capitalism:

“More than 29,000 people in 27 countries were questioned. In only two countries, the United States and Pakistan, did more than one in five people feel that capitalism works well as it stands. Almost a quarter - 23% of those who responded - feel it is fatally flawed. That is the view of 43% in France, 38% in Mexico and 35% in Brazil”.

Much of the global dissatisfaction with capitalism, the report suggests, stems from that system’s production and exacerbation of income inequality. While economies based on high growth models may produce more wealth as a whole, its distribution is skewed overwhelmingly in favor of a small minority.

Fernando Coronil, a professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, joins Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss how the export of oil to Iran undermines any new sanctions. They also talk about this weekend’s protests in Venezuela and Hugo Chavez’s suspension of radio stations.

Chavez pledged closer ties to Iran and inked a deal yesterday with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to supply the Middle Eastern nation with up to 20,000 barrels of oil per day.

Today, Chavez appeared at the Venice Film Festival premier of a new Oliver Stone film about the Venezuelan strongman.

Meanwhile, massive protests erupted in Caracas this weekend. Anti-Chavistas are furious about the government’s economic policies and media crackdown. The news report below is from RCTV, an anti-Chavez Venezuelan news network.

Blogger Daniel-Venezuela writes about the importance of recent demonstrations. Read the original post here.

You only need to look at the overreacting of many Chavistas to notice that no matter how big yesterday’s No Mas Chavez rally were, Chavista officialdom is really upset. They cannot hide it.

Be it Chavez who takes lots of time to explain to us he does not care, from Syria, from Iran.

Be it the Venezuelan ambassador in Bogota who says that Venezuela is insulted (correction, you might be insulted, I am not) and implying that the Bogota government should not allow such demonstrations.

In fact Chavismo is so upset that revenge must be exacted. Thus Globovison, the closest object at hand, once again is under attack by a particularly bitter Diosdado Cabello, the guy in charge while Chavez visits the planets collection of tyrants. Not only a new investigation against Globovision is undertaken for a single alleged SMS (whereas the VTV ticker spews constant violence that the regime supports by ignoring them), but 29 more radio stations are to be taken off the air waves (in addition to the 34 already killed). Globovison offers the video of Cabello threats and bitterness. But the world is noticing and Diosdado words hit the news wires fast, even in English. They sure will be a nice complement to Chavez words supporting Iran’s nuclear program today…

Meanwhile there will be more wounds to lick for Chavismo: BBCMundo reports that in Honduras the No Mas Chavez was big in 5 cities of the small country while the pro-Chavez Zelayista camp could only manage an activity in Tegucigalpa…A very bad P.R. week for Chavismo.

Venezuela shut down 34 radio stations.

My guess is that you are one of the poor deprived people among us who has not had the opportunity to watch and understand the charming, engaging, benevolent, all-knowing president of Venezuela — Hugo Chavez — in action.

It also could be that you are doing this on purpose — that would make you not just deprived, but depraved. Perhaps you are an agent of Venezuela’s enemies.

Fortunately Chavez is protecting Venezuela against you and all such agents. Last week, to root out the vermin that spread lies and plot against the people, President Chavez shut down several dozen private radio stations. His parliament — whose members understand exactly what needs to be done in all cases — has promoted new libel laws that protect the Chavista revolution from foul lies that could be spread on the airwaves. “Any person who speaks out in any form in the news media” can be considered a “media criminal” for disseminating seditious opinions, we’ve learned from Teodoro Petkoff, a long-time Venezeulan political analyst. Petkoff’s column last week was titled with a large headline reading “Censorship Law.”

It all makes perfect sense.

Venezuela’s enemies fall into two categories — you are either well-meaning but deceived and brainwashed; or you are an enemy of the revolution, and you could be a spy sent by the Central Intelligence Agency.

I learned this by watching Chavez’s televised performance at a meeting of his Cabinet in February, during his successful campaign for a referendum that abolished presidential term limits. Chavez apparently has a little button he can press when he wants to preempt all television and radio broadcasting in Venezuela to speak directly to the people. In the particular meeting, he told jokes, gave orders and questioned Cabinet members seated around the table, who looked uncertain when to laugh, agree, disagree, or react in any way, fearing for their heads. He also denied any involvement, as the CIA-stooge opposition was charging, in an attack on a synagogue in Caracas some days earlier.

In any case, when you can have the president speaking directly to you, why do we need a filter from these troublesome, CIA-funded newspaper and broadcast reporters, who are certain to be on a vendetta to destroy the country? If the president is all-knowing, infallible and looking out for our interests, who needs critics, dissent, or anything that will get in the way of the true path that the president has now set out for us?

Such a filter is Teodoro Petkoff, the journalist and politician, who has been a prominent critic of Chavez. Petkoff, by the way, is an ex-guerrilla, a student leader, and ran against Chavez briefly for the presidency in 2006. Beware — how can he be reliable? He disagrees with the president.

Nevertheless — understanding that the president of Venezuela doesn’t want you to hear about this, read about it, or even think about it — here’s what Petkoff has to say about the new censorship law promulgated by Chavez:

The proposed law has to be sent to all the governments of America, to all the news media of the world, so that they might see for themselves the dictatorial and totalitarian monstrosity that has been placed before our nation. It is not necessary in any way to even comment about it. It is so obvious, so naked in its repressive intent, that it explains itself. For us, Venezuelans, this “law” is a call to battle stations. One can hope that everyone is listening.

- Peter Eisner

A banner voices opposition to the coup in Honduras.

International politics have never been far from the surface of the presidential crisis in Honduras.

– What was the role of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in supporting ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya?

– Was the mediator in the case Costa Rican President Oscar Arias truly neutral? Or did he have advance warning that Zelaya would be deposed and then sent into exile in his pajamas to Costa Rica?

– And what is the full agenda of U.S. policymakers, who don’t like Chavez, but overtly support Zelaya as the constitutional president of Honduras?

Zelaya is vowing to march back into the country overland through Nicaragua this weekend. He hopped into an SUV in Managua on Thursday and drove himself north to the border, urging supporters to meet him there. Zelaya and his interim successor, Roberto Micheletti, have not budged on their mutual demands despite the mediation of Arias.

One new wrinkle in the story is the revelation that Lanny Davis, a longtime ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, was working with Honduran businessmen who opposed Zelaya and promoting his ouster. Davis has been talking up the coup in Congress.

Davis’ role in the Honduran case was described in a report by Roberto Lovato at the online magazine, American Prospect.

Robert White, a former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, now president of the Washington-based Center for International Policy, an independent think-tank in Washington, discussed the case with
Lovato.

“If you want to understand who the real power behind the [Honduran] coup is,” White told Lovato, “you need to find out who’s paying Lanny Davis.”

Davis was White House counsel to President Clinton from 1996-1998, and worked with Hillary Clinton on her unsuccessful presidential bid. He has been making the rounds in Congress, promoting the idea that the Honduran coup was justified and playing down widespread reports of repression and curbs on the news media.

Lovato also interviewed Davis:

“My clients represent the CEAL, the [Honduras Chapter of] Business Council of Latin America,” Davis said when reached at his office last Thursday. “I do not represent the government and do not talk to President [Roberto] Micheletti. My main contacts are Camilo Atala and Jorge Canahuati. I’m proud to represent businessmen who are committed to the rule of law.” Atala, Canahuati, and other families that own the corporate interests represented by Davis and the CEAL are at the top of an economic pyramid in which 62 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.”

White and those who oppose Micheletti and the coup said that the underlying problem is that a small class of businessmen in Honduras don’t recognize or care about that larger context — the vast majority of Hondurans are abjectly poor and have suffered while an oligarchic minority has thrived.

Coups, White told Lovato, “happen because very wealthy people want them and help to make them happen, people who are used to seeing the country as a money machine and suddenly see social legislation on behalf of the poor as a threat to their interests. The average wage of a worker in free trade zones is 77 cents per hour.”

One of Zelaya’s cardinal sins, critics of the coup charge, was that he was a dissident member of the wealthy business class, and converted to social-minded pursuits only after he was elected to office.

Davis and other opponents say that Zelaya had been in the process of creating an official coup, subverting the constitution and attempting to maintain himself in office much the same way as Chavez has seized absolute power in Venezuela.

Again, the bottom line, what does this all mean to the suffering, malnourished Honduran majority? They watch politicians come and go from squalid slums and never see life getting any better at all.

- Peter Eisner

Photo courtesy of Flickr user pablo.cardozo under a Creative Commons license.

Political upheaval continues in Honduras, after liberal leader Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup in late June. It is a battle that has played out not only in the streets of Honduras, but also on television screens and over radio waves across the world.

Some, including U.S. President Barack Obama and the Organization of American States, have condemned the ouster of the democratically-elected president, saying it was unconstitutional, illegal and a threat to democracy.

Others point out that Zelaya was pushing ahead with a referendum on term limits that Honduras’ Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional, and consider his removal the result of healthy checks and balances.

The Honduran military has clamped down on pro-Zelaya channels in the country and blocked the signal of Telesur, a left-leaning television network based in Venezuela. Other state-run media across Latin America have broadcast programs in support of Zelaya.

Worldfocus.org’s weekly radio show on explored the coup in Honduras and how Latin America’s media industry — from state-run stations to independent websites — has become a political battleground.

Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosts the following panel of guests:

Competing protests have rocked the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa. Photo: Sandra Cuffe

Sandra Cuffe is an independent journalist and photographer from Montréal, Canada­. Sandra has reported from Latin America for several years and is the Honduras correspondent for UpsideDownWorld.org.

Daniel Duquenal is a blogger at “Venezuela News and Views,” which he’s been writing for six years. He hails from small San Felipe in Venezuela and spent 15 years in the US before returning to Venezuela to manage a small family business.

Silvio Waisbord is an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, and editor of the International Journal of Press/Politics. He is the author of “Watchdog Journalism in South America: News, Accountability and Democracy.”

Credits:
Host: Martin Savidge
Producers: Katie Combs, Ben Piven

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Most police around the world will tell you that they’re always wary about getting into the middle of a domestic dispute. It can be a no-win situation, and everybody ends up hating the cops.

Case in point, how to deal with the Honduras crisis — so far, the United States appears to have steered clear of getting stuck. The Obama administration has been listening to both sides and endorsed the entry of a neutral non-U.S. mediator, Oscar Arias, the Costa Rican president and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Most important, the two sides in Honduras — Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, and his old friend and former ally, Roberto Micheletti — have agreed to the mediation. This is a complicated domestic matter, seated in rivalries and seething questions about power, influence, economic interest and the long-term welfare of a desperately poor country.

Zelaya and Micheletti hold steadfastly to their positions — the deposed president said his return to office is not negotiable, and Micheletti is equally adamant against him returning to power.

But they will be talking with Arias’ help this week, instead of fighting at the borders.

Ideologues of various stripes — from The National Review to the halls of power in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez holds forth — are looking in from the outside and bloviating about what is best of Honduras.

Chavez’s government Web site, “Gobierno En Linea,” said that the coup plotters were attempted murders and should be dealt with accordingly:

[...] it was an attack directly against the head of state [Zelaya], by which the coup members and those responsible for the military coup should be taken to court and judged for the crime of attempted murder.

[..] atentó directamente contra la vida del Jefe de Estado, motivo por el que los golpistas y responsables del golpe militar deben ser llevados a una corte y juzgados por el delito de homicidio frustrado.

Most governments and publications in the hemisphere and beyond were saying more mildly that the coup was illegal and Zelaya had to be returned to power. However, the National Review, the voice of conservatives in the United States, defended the coup on grounds that Zelaya would have turned Honduras into “a satellite” of Chavez’s Venezuelan revolution:

It was an affirmation of democracy and the rule of law, both of which the president had flouted. If anything, it was a counter-coup, the real coup having been attempted by Zelaya.

The resolution has to lie somewhere in between the extremes, and here’s hoping that one group — the millions of desperately poor people in Honduras — will somehow benefit in the end.

Those were the sentiments of Arias as he went into the round of mediation:

Those of us who seek to protect democracies in this hemisphere have no time to waste. I urge all leaders in the Americas to see the Honduran crisis for what it is: an urgent call for the profound social and institutional changes our region has delayed for far too long.

- Peter Eisner

Photo courtesy of Flickr user living water international under a Creative Commons license.

Seal of the U.S. Department of State.

This week, the U.S. State Department released its extensive 2008 country reports on human rights practices, a country-by-country evaluation of worker rights, free movement, privacy and other basic expectations of the State Department.

The report covers often-criticized China, whose authorities claim that the U.S. evaluations — including reports of state persecution of ethnic minorities and dissidents — willfully ignored and distorted basic facts.

Blogger Akhila Kolisetty at “Justice for All” disapproves of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent statement that “our pressing on those issues can’t interfere with the global economic crisis.”

I’m shocked that Clinton chose to prioritize economic issues over human rights — not that those issues aren’t important, but simply because she’s denying that human rights is important. By choosing to separate human rights from all these other issues, Clinton also fails to understand that all these problems are interrelated. How can you progress on climate change or security when human rights at home are being violated?

The State Department also cited instances of political imprisonment and media control, among other charges, in Cuba. Despite such charges, Marvin Kalb of GlobalPost wonders if Cuba is the site of a “golden opportunity“ that President Obama may be missing in terms of engagement.

Raul Castro has launched a program of “reform,” but it appears to be successful only in generating demands for more reform. What had once been taken for granted in Cuba — unmistakable advances in education, health care and pensions — are now under a spreading cloud of doubt. I’m told the average state wage is $18 a month, clearly no longer adequate, if it ever was. And ration cards can provide no more than half the monthly food needs of a family.

Optimists exist, and they catch glimpses of a promising tomorrow. Oil, for instance: Cuba controls a corner of the Gulf of Mexico that has oil reserves estimated at 10 to 15 billion barrels, just waiting to be developed. Would it not be better for the U.S. to be moderately dependent on Cuba for its oil than on Saudi Arabia?

And, buried deep in the State Department, but ready for rapid excavation after the Bush years, are numerous policy briefs for a considerable expansion of Cuban-American relations, including joint operations against drugs and organized crime and a lifting of the embargo in all communications and travel. Cuba could quickly become a very attractive market.

For more, listen to our online radio show on Cuba and the U.S. In other human rights news, Serbia’s arrest of accused war criminals who operated under Slobodan Milosevic led to five convictions involving 22-year sentences.

Balkan blogger “Grey Falcon” finds the acquittal of ex-Serbian president Milan Milutinovic bigger news, more atypical that the story of the convictions.  Falcon sees political motivations behind the acquittal:

The purpose of today’s verdict was threefold: to legitimize the NATO aggression from 1999 (i.e. NATO action was necessary and appropriate because the Serbs were engaging in a criminal conspiracy to murder and expel Albanians); to buttress the “Independent State of Kosovo,” proclaimed last February but so far recognized by only 55 governments; and to brand Serbia as the aggressor and criminal, rather than the victim of NATO’s aggression, occupation of Kosovo and the ethnic cleansing of its citizens that followed.

The UK has admitted complicity in the American practice of extraordinary rendition, which they had previously denied.

British blogger Stephen Linlithgow mocks Tony Blair’s previous denial of collusion:

To be fair to Tony Blair it now appears that collusion is indeed the wrong way to describe it. The Labour government appear to have actively handed over suspects to them to catch these flights. Far more than even Sir Menzies Campbell hinted at on that particular Wednesday when it was only assumed that our airspace or airfields were being used.

Venezeula is just one of several countries that responded negatively to the State Department report.  ”VIO News Blog” reports on the Venezuelan condemnation of the findings, which claim that the country  has a partial judiciary and harasses the media:

Venezuela on Thursday condemned the report and categorically rejected what it says are false allegations and a clear example of political meddling in its internal affairs. Contrary to the impression given by the report, Venezuela’s opposition parties enjoy all the political freedoms that are found in other democratic countries and have in fact made significant gains in recent elections.  Meanwhile, freedom of speech is fully respected, as is demonstrated by the fact that a majority of private media outlets remain ardent and vocal critics of the government.

The report offers no evaluation of U.S. human rights practices.

Venezuelans recently voted for a referendum to end term limits, which could potentially extend President Hugo Chávez’s term indefinitely.

Chávez is a darling of news headlines worldwide with his colorful, often anti-American rhetoric and socialist agenda, but Worldfocus’ online radio show looked at what the headlines miss:

• What do the Venezuelans who elected him want?
• Why has trade with China, Russia and Iran has expanded across Latin America? Has the U.S. “neglected” Latin America?
• Is Latin America swaying left with elections of seemingly leftist and socialist leaders, like Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil and Evo Morales in Bolivia?

Worldfocus’ weekly radio show examined the hype of Hugo Chávez and the expectations of the Venezuelans who elected him. The program surveyed the political players in Latin America and explored the social and political movements from the ground up.  Our panel also discussed the Obama administration and the U.S.’s role in Latin America’s future.

Credits:
Host: Martin Savidge
Producers: Lisa Biagiotti, Katie Combs and Stephen Puschel

Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosted a panel of guests:

Charlie Devereux is a correspondent based in Venezuela for GlobalPost. Born and raised in Panama, he has traveled throughout Latin America. Charlie’s work has appeared in the Daily Telegraph, CNN International, the Sunday Telegraph, the San Francisco Chronicle and openDemocracy.

Sujatha Fernandes is an assistant professor of sociology at Queens College, City University of New York. She spent 9 months living and carrying out field research in a popular barrio of Caracas during the presidency of Hugo Chávez. Her book, “In the Spirit of Negro Primero: Urban Social Movements in Chávez’s Venezuela,” will be published by Duke University Press in Spring 2010.

Tony Spanakos is an assistant professor of political science and law at Montclair State University specializing in comparative politics, political economy, democratization and Latin America. He co-edited the book “Reforming Brazil” and is a two-time Fulbright scholar, most recently researching the reception of economic policy in different communities in Venezuela. He conducted this research while living in Caracas between January and August of 2008.

Venezuela had rejected a similar measure about 15 months ago.

Moisés Naím, editor of Foreign Policy and a former minister of trade and industry in Venezuela before Chávez came to power, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the possibility of Chávez getting re-elected when his current term is up in 2013, how oil prices will impact the election and how the Obama administration should deal with Chávez.

Below, read what bloggers in Venezuela had to say about the referendum and the country’s future.

A blogger at “Caracas Chronicles” describes the scene at one polling station:

We’re leaving the polling center. Tibi gave the results and Chavez is shouting the national anthem on the radio. Everyone is in a commotion because a motorcyclist has just been shot in the head and killed near this polling station. His name was Ismael and it seems many people knew him.

Before I left, I told one of the Chavista, member of the mesa, that I was afraid that today we gave a blank check and too much power to a single guy, and that they day they wanted to change presidents it could be too late. Her reply: “el pueblo es sabio y paciente, nosotros sabremos pasar factura”. I sure hope so.

Blogger “Daniel” in Venezuela voices his disappointment with the results:

Venezuela has voted for an unacceptable type of politics. As such it has proven that a large majority of its people does not believe in democracy [...] The novelty tonight is that as of now this is a permanent chasm, a profound division of the country that cannot be solved through democracy alone.

[...]The soft language of the opposition that “we agree with Chavez social programs but we can run them better” is never going to work. Today it has reached its limit.

Blogger “Julia” in Caracas strikes a more resigned tone:

The nasty purple finger confirms that I already voted, a few hours ago to be exact. I “voted” on some “elections” I never asked for, in front of an Electoral Institution I do not trust. But it is done.

The retiring Central Intelligence Agency chief said last week the drug violence in Mexico could pose a bigger problem for President Obama than Iraq. Another report by the U.S. military says Mexico is at risk of “sudden collapse.” 

Meanwhile, Cuban President Raul Castro has expressed an interest in working with President Obama — while Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Monday that the new Obama administration already has what he called the “stench” of the Bush administration.

Shannon O’Neil, a specialist on Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins Martin Savidge to discuss how President Obama might tackle Mexican drug violence and relations with Cuba and Venezuela.

Read more about world reactions to Obama’s inauguration: The world watches as President Obama takes office.

Since peaking in July at $147.27, oil prices have dropped a total of 74 percent.

Daniel Yergin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power,” joins Martin Savidge to discuss declining oil prices, how prices will look in the long-term and whether oil-rich countries like Russia, Iran and Venezuela will ever regain the power they had when prices were higher. 

Nikolas Kozloff, the author of “Revolution, South America and the Rise of the New Left,” speaks with Martin Savidge about the importance of Medvedev’s visit and how it affects the U.S. and other countries in the western hemisphere.

Shannon O’Neil, a specialist on Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Chávez’s position, joint naval exercises between Russia and Venezuela and Obama’s approach to Venezuela going forward.

Sara Llana Miller of The Christian Science Monitor was in Caracas for the elections and speaks to Martin Savidge about the Venezuelan reaction.

People wait in line to vote in Sunday’s local elections in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez claims the results of Sunday’s state and local elections are a validation of his socialist policies, as his supporters held on to governors’ posts in 17 of Venezuela’s 23 states.

However, Chávez’s opponents won in five states and in the two biggest cities, making gains.

Bloggers in Venezuela and around the world weigh in about the elections and the future of Venezuela after “23n” — the tag used to designate election coverage online (based on the date of the Sunday elections).

Hector Palacios at ”Rayas y Palabras” posts videos from an online campaign that encouraged Venezuelans to talk about the elections using citizen media.

Twitter users in Venezuela and elsewhere post snippets about “23n,” and Flickr users post “23n” images.

A software developer at the “Venezuela and Europe” blog writes about election technology in Venezuela and incidences of corruption.

Blogger “Daniel” live blogs from Caracas, describing long lines and confusing voting procedures. In the aftermath, he expresses happiness about the opposition’s gains.

A blogger at Salon.com’s “Devil’s Excrement” blog says the gains are “about the right amount,” hoping that Chávez will be in power and in place to shoulder the blame as the economic crisis hits.

The “Caracas Chronicles” blog writes about significant implications of the elections, including Venezuela’s urban/rural divide, potential changes for the oil industry and new opposition leaders in Caracas. The blogger also posts a final electoral map.

The opposition movement has capitalized on rising inflation and accusations of corruption. Chávez is expected to seek approval to abolish presidential term limits, which would enable a 2012 run.

Photos courtesy of Flickr user LuisCarlos Diaz and M@fe under a Creative Commons license.

Shannon O’Neil, a specialist on Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations, speaks with Martin Savidge about Obama’s position on Cuba, the future of relations with Cuba and Venezuela and major trade issues that are currently under review in Congress.

A billboard in Havana, Cuba features the likeness of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and proclaims “We will make the dream of Bolívar and Martí a reality.” Venezuelan Simón Bolívar and Cuban José Martí were 19th century leaders.

This week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez welcomes over 200 intellectuals from 66 countries to an international forum called the World Meeting of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity.

Intellectuals from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Latin America will discuss the social and political movements in their nations, including gender equality, media, democracy and socialism.

Chavez recently landed from his annual world tour, which stopped off in Cuba, China, Russia, Portugal and France.

According to Chavez, the purpose of the world tour was to build international relationships and sign exchange and cooperation deals on economic, social and cultural matters.

As Chavez made his rounds in Asia and Europe, a Russian warship set sail for Venezuela. The warship is scheduled to arrive in Venezuela next month to participate in joint military exercises.

Below is a map of Hugo Chavez’s recent travels — detailing his growing international interests and ties to foreign nations.

Click on START to begin, and CLICK on each plane to fly to Chavez’s next destination.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user svet under a Creative Commons license.

Giles Alston, a space and technology specialist with Oxford Analytica, speaks with Martin Savidge about the significance of the launch and China’s efforts to subsidize satellite programs in other countries, including Venezuela and Nigeria.