Hugo Chavez
On Tuesday, March 5, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died at the age of 58. His handpicked successor, Vice President Nicolas Maduro will take over. Chavez, an ardent critic of the United States and laissez-faire capitalism, ushered strong left-wing policies into his country. Many countries in South and Central America soon followed his lead. At the time of his death, only a handful of countries in this area of the world were led by center-right or conservative leaders. Furthermore, Chavez’s party, the United Socialist Party, was largest left-leaning political party in South and Central America. Now that Chavez has passed and Maduro is leading, if only temporarily, what will happen to relations between the United States and Venezuela?
Politics Matters 