On April 1st Michael Shifter was interviewed by Melissa Culross and Jon Bristow of KCBS News Radio based in San Francisco. The interview focused on a discussion of the events leading to the reversal of Venezuela’s Supreme Court decision to suspend the legislative powers of the General Assembly. Although many issues remain unsolved, the swift reversal of the decision served as a testament to the power of domestic and international pressures in influencing the government Michael said. Michael also discussed several other problems facing Venezuela such as crime, inadequate resources, and absent rule of law.
Unrest in Venezuela was sparked after the country’s Supreme Court effectively dissolved the country’s legislature but then reversed the move following widespread condemnation over fears that the country was lurching toward a dictatorship. Meanwhile, the legislature has begun the process of removing pro-government Supreme Court justices. Is the relationship among Venezuela’s branches of government irreparably damaged?
More regional governments are waking up to Venezuela’s disaster and are willing to do something about it. If Washington assumes a more unilateral, interventionist stance, progress could stall, drawing the United States and a transformed Latin America further apart.
In this interview with BBC World News, Michael Shifter analyzes the situation in Venezuela the day when the Andean country erupts in its “Mother Of All Protests”, leaving three dead and many injured.
De cara al cumplimiento de los primeros 100 días en el poder de Donald Trump, Michael Shifter se refirió en entrevista con NTN24 a la postura de la administración del presidente estadounidense con Venezuela hacia el futuro próximo y aseguró que considera que se pueden esperar más sanciones para quienes están acusados de violaciones de Derechos Humanos y corrupción, “va a haber más y más duras”, señaló.
There is a sense expressed by many in Caracas that these protests are a new chapter in Venezuela’s saga in which the government will have a tough time putting such unrest back in a box. But what comes next is difficult to know.
Michael Shifter es entrevistado por Juan Carlos Iragorri desde Madrid sobre la crisis en Venezuela y la próxima visita de Juan Manuel Santos a Washington.
Since late President Hugo Chávez took power in Venezuela in 1999, the Andean nation and Cuba have had close ties. Those ties have included Venezuela sending oil to Cuba on preferential terms and Cuba sending doctors and other professionals to Venezuela. Venezuela, however, is now beset by political and economic crisis, including skyrocketing inflation, shortages of food and basic goods, and recent deadly protests. In which ways does Cuba still rely on Venezuela, and how important is that support to the island nation?
While the Trump administration’s “America first” policies are aimed primarily at giving higher priority to national security and economic growth for the United States, the White House’s approach will have impacts on energy relations with the rest of the hemisphere that should also be considered.
Lisa Viscidi, Director of the Energy, Climate Change and Extractive Industries Program, testified before the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on the subject of “Energy Opportunities in Latin America.”
In the early 1980s, when the Inter-American Dialogue was born, the U.S. was actively supporting right-wing governments from El Salvador to Nicaragua. There were “tremendous misunderstandings between Latin America and the United States,” says Michael Shifter, longtime president of the D.C.-based think tank. These days, it seems those tremendous misunderstandings have returned with a vengeance, making the Dialogue’s work even more relevant.
En esta entrevista radiofónica con Luis Montes para WLIE 540 AM, Michael Shifter analiza el presupuesto del gobierno de Trump y su impacto en la región, lo que podemos anticipar sobre las políticas de Estados Unidos hacia Cuba, y el rol de distintos actores en la crisis de Venezuela.
