Latin American Program in the News: Chavez's spirit will guide Venezuela - until leftist unity frays
“Chavismo is very much going to continue without Chavez, but it will never be the same”
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“Chavismo is very much going to continue without Chavez, but it will never be the same,” Cynthia Arnson, Latin America program director for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said of the late leader’s signature development agenda.
With the majority of Venezuelans still far below the regional poverty line, there will be no retrenching of the costly missions, Arnson said.
She predicted a relatively easy victory for Maduro in the presidential vote that must be held within 30 days of Chavez’s death, according to the constitution. But “cracks and divisions will become more apparent in the medium term” as Chavez lieutenants stumble in attempts to fill his shoes.
“Chavez had a singular ability to keep his movement unified, to keep direct contact with his massive base. No leader, not Maduro or anyone else, has that quality,” Arnson said.
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About the Author
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
