It was the "shut up" heard round the world, but what may have upset Venezuela's fiery leader was not the King of Spain (not the rudest royal), but a fellow leftist prime minister (more on YouTube, in Spanish). King Juan Carlos got one thing right on Saturday: Chavez could certainly do with shutting up a bit. The Perils of Petrocracy: Can Hugo Chavez’s "oil socialism" show resource-rich countries the way to stability and prosperity? Or is it just the old oil curse in a new guise? No conflict best exemplifies the ambivalence toward Chavez than his battle against the opposition-aligned RCTV. The new fellow-travelers: Why actors and models love to hang out with Hugo Chavez. Shaman or charlatan? A review of My Life by Fidel Castro. Around Cuba, some walls may be crumbling as the regime battles its greatest foes — America and the march of time. From New Left Review, central planks of Pinochet's state have been left untouched by successive elected governments; Manuel Riesco asks whether the Transition will now finally follow Pinochet into the grave. Political tango, women in the lead: Latin American voters look for new political and economic models. A review of Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President by Vicente Fox; Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants by Jorge G. Castaneda; and Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America by Gregory Rodriguez (and more and more and more).
