Venezuela: The new engine for Latin American unity?

Rodrigo Acuña

presented by
The Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies and LAIRS


6pm, Wednesday 8 October 2008
Seminar Room 458, Education Building

In February 1999, Hugo Chávez Fr'as took office in Venezuela after a landslide electoral victory. In the years that followed, a similar backlash against neoliberal economics took place as left and centre-leftist governments came to power in Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Nicaragua and Paraguay while a close relationship between Caracas and Havana developed. Although most of the mainstream media has often focused on the Venezuelan President's overly rhetorical style, Chávez's government, much to the annoyance of Washington, has carefully being placing its pieces across the strategic board throughout Latin America.

In this seminar, Rodrigo Acuña will discuss some of the national and regional policies of the Chávez government while examining Venezuela's history, and how a former Lieutenant-Colonel came to win the country's highest office. He will explore if Venezuela can be considered the regional leader it claims to be and if so, what successes it has had in pursuing its aims. Finally, the dynamics of Venezuela's current and future relationship with Washington will also be discussed at length as Caracas moves to build strong ties with China and Russia.

Rodrigo Acuña is a combined-honours graduate in Politics/International Relations and Spanish/Latin American Studies from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He writes regularly on Latin American affairs and has published in the ABC, On Line Opinion: Australia's e-journal of social and political debate, New Matilda, The Diplomat, El Español en Australia and Eureka Street among others. He has been interviewed on SBS Radio (Spanish), Radio Adelaide and Al Jazeera while he has recently been working as a research assistant in Spanish Studies at Macquarie University.