Analysis: International

Exxon 'Loses' Venezuela Nationalisation Case

By Chris Arsenault - Al Jazeera, Jan 9th 2012

In the latest showdown between western oil companies and Venezuela’s populist president, Exxon Mobil is widely seen as the loser, after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled that the world’s biggest oil company would not be entitled to most of the damages it demanded after its fields were nationalised.

Mozart vs. the Gangstas: How Classical Music Is Changing Young Lives

By Jens Erik Gould , TIME US. , Jan 8th 2012

Gangs are such a part of life in southeastern Los Angeles that Daniel Gonzalez once thought he was destined to be wrapped up in them sooner or later.

Honduras: Government Looks to Venezuela for Aid

By Weekly News Update on the Americas, Jan 6th 2012

In a communiqué released on Dec. 24, center-right Honduran president Porfirio ("Pepe") Lobo Sosa said his government intended to have the country return to Petrocaribe, a program through which Venezuela provides oil to other Caribbean countries at favorable terms.

War on Venezuela: Washington’s False Accusations against the Chavez Government

By Eva Gollinger - Correo del Orinoco International, Dec 27th 2011

Dangerous and unfounded accusations could easily be used to justify an attack against Venezuela, as “weapons of mass destruction” was used against Iraq and “protecting the population” was used against Libya.Obama’s reckless bandwagoning of aggression against Venezuela could lead to an unnecessary atrocity.

The AFL-CIO’s Covert Ops in Venezuela

By Alberto C Ruiz- CounterPunch, Dec 16th 2011

In 2002, the AFL-CIO’s international arm known as the “Solidarity Center” was greatly embarrassed when it came to light that it had been supporting actors in Venezuela who participated in the short-lived coup against President Hugo Chavez.

Dangerous lies: US Media Outlet Falsely Accuses Venezuela of Terrorist Plot

By Correo del Orinoco International, Dec 16th 2011

This week Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called on friends and allies to “be attentive” after mainstream media outlets in the United States released uncorroborated evidence accusing Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran of holding “secret meetings” in Mexico to plan terrorist attacks against “US interests”.

A Union is Born: Latin America in Revolution

By Eva Golinger - Correo del Orinoco International, Dec 13th 2011

While much of the world is in crisis and protests are erupting throughout Europe and the United States, Latin American and Caribbean nations are building consensus, advancing social justice and increasing positive cooperation in the region.

The Real Spirit of Celac is on the Streets of Venezuela

By Jody McIntyre - The Guardian UK, Dec 11th 2011

Members of the Hip Hop Revolution Collective meeting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, March 2008 (Alo Presidente).

When Eduardo Galeano wrote the Open Veins of Latin America four decades ago, he wrote of a continent mired in oppression and of a political, economic and social process that excluded the majority of its citizens. Today, something very different is taking place.

Out of the Backyard: New Latin American and Caribbean Bloc Defies Washington

By Benjamin Dangl - Toward Freedom, Dec 9th 2011

Heads of state from every country in the Western Hemisphere apart from the US and Canada were invited to attend the summit (Arch

Rain clouds ringed the lush hillsides and poor neighborhoods cradling Caracas, Venezuela as dozens of Latin American and Caribbean heads of state trickled out of the airport and into motorcades and hotel rooms. They were gathering for the foundational summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a new regional bloc aimed at self-determination outside the scope of Washington’s power.

Summit in Venezuela Opens 'New Phase in History'

By Federico Fuentes - Green Left Weekly, Dec 9th 2011

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (Archive)

A summit of huge importance was held in Venezuela on December 2-3. Two hundred years after Latin America’s independence fighters first raised the battle cry for a united Latin America, 33 heads of states from across the region came together to form the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). For Latin America, the summit represented a further step away from its traditional role as the United States’ backyard and its emergence as a player in its own right in international politics

CELAC: Speaking for Latin America and the Caribbean

By Alex Main - Centre for Economic and Policy Research, Dec 8th 2011

Every nation in the Western Hemisphere was invited to the CELAC summit with the exception of the US and Canada (Prensa Latina/ A

On Saturday, Dec. 3 – while most of the U.S. media was focused on the political demise of Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain and the growing financial meltdown in Europe – the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) was officially launched at a summit in Caracas, Venezuela.

Latin America no Longer for Sale: the New CELAC Poles Apart from the OAS

By Tamara Pearson – Venezuelanalysis.com, Dec 7th 2011

CELAC plenary session, 2 December 2011 (Tamara Pearson / Venezuelanalysis.com)

Reuters may have dismissed the CELAC as more “initials” but many Venezuelans, both in the government and in the organised grassroots, see it as an important step towards Latin American integration, and as an organisation that is profoundly different to the OAS, EU, APEC and other regional blocs. This Venezuelanalysis.com eyewitness report explores how and why.

CELAC: We Are Constructing the New World

By Aram Aharonian - Alainet.org, Dec 3rd 2011

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks at the opening of CELAC (RNV)

To speak of a Community of Latin American and Caribbean States [CELAC] signifies beginning to assume regional sovereignty, putting aside the “protectionism” of the United States and Canada, aware that the old recipes that they imposed upon us for 500 years only meant pain and sorrow for the great majority.

Alba TV: Community Television Goes International

By Rich Potter, Dec 2nd 2011

Albatv (Albatv.org)

In July of 2009, when Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup, journalists and film crews from around the world descended on Tegucigalpa to cover the dramatic aftermath. Among them were two reporters from a fledgling Venezuela-based collective called Alba TV.

ALBA Giving Hope and Solidarity to Latin America

By Federico Fuentes & Ruben Pereira - GreenLeft Weekly, Nov 30th 2011

Seven years after being launched by the Venezuelan and Cuban governments, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) has become an important voice on the global stage willing to stand up and denounce capitalism.