Tag Archives: democracy

March 22, 2012

Vatican dismisses suggestions Cuba could exploit pope visit, says it will help democracy

AP-  The Vatican’s No. 2 has dismissed suggestions that Cuba’s Communist government could exploit Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming trip as a propaganda tool, saying the visit should help promote democracy on the island. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said he expects an outpouring of support for the… read more »

January 24, 2012

Chavez opponents vie for 2012 presidential ticket

Reuters-The withdrawal of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez leaves five candidates vying for the right to challenge President Hugo Chavez in this year’s presidential vote. Echoing Venezuelans’ top concerns, the candidates have all stressed reducing crime and cutting unemployment as their priorities in the South American OPEC nation. Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFS1E78J1JB20120124?pageNumber=4&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

April 18, 2011

Cubans welcome Castro call to limit leaders’ terms

Jeff Franks and Rosa Tania Valdes, Reuters, Havana - Cubans mostly welcomed President Raul Castro’s call at a Communist Party congress this weekend to limit the terms of island leaders, saying on Sunday it would bring new blood to the government the Castros and their aging colleagues have ruled for 52… read more »

April 16, 2011

Ageing Cuban leadership seeks new blood

Marc Frank, Financial Times, Havana - President Raúl Castro of Cuba called for time limits on top government posts as he opened a Communist party congress expected to crown his campaign to overhaul the economy. “We have reached the conclusion that it is advisable to recommend limiting the time of service in… read more »

April 8, 2011

Interview with Edgardo Lander: The Path for Venezuela can not be Neoliberalism or Stalinism

By Hugo Preto, Transnational Institute – The Venezuelan process is caught between a fundamental contradiction: popular demands for democratic participation against tendencies towards hierarchical decison-making and concentration of power. Since the 18th December, there has been a new situation in Venezuela marked by limited legislative action, due to the approval… read more »

April 8, 2011

Rodolfo Pastor Campos: An Inconvenient Truth in Honduras

At the same time that the police and the Honduran army were brutally repressing popular protests of teachers, students, and resistance members for the sixth day in a row, Julissa Reynoso was greeting Honduran President Porfirio Lobo at the presidential palace. According to the press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in… read more »

February 8, 2011

Democracy There, Democracy Here: Honduras

Greg Grandin, The Nation – The Nation has done great coverage of the June 2009 Honduran coup, most recently a update this past January by Dana Frank on the Washington-approved tragedy that continues to unfold there. Watching the maneuvers of Hillary Clinton’s State Department and Middle East hands like Frank… read more »