Children of the revolution

Posted By Diyana Ishak Tuesday, December 5, 2006 - 4:36 PM Share

Chavez The past few days have generated great speculation about the fate of the Latin American "socialist revolution." Castro's absence from his long-belated 80th birthday party and the celebration of the revolution's anniversary on Saturday, heightened suspicion that the leader is on his last lap of life. Meanwhile, Castro did manage to send a letter of congratulations to his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, for his success in the presidential elections. It's no secret that the two are extremely close, and that Chavez seems to be preoccupied with securing a Castroesque legacy of his own. But with the end of one revolutionary and the apparent revival of another, it's unclear just where the social justice revolution is going. Will Chavez be able to finish off his Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela with a dose of Cuban-style socialism and a hefty wad of petrodollars? And will Chavez attempt to assert influence in Cuba after Castro's death in order to keep the revolution humming? While we can only watch this space, FP has some great articles to fuel your speculations. Check out Javier Corrales's look at the many "lefts" in Latin America, and his article on the Venezuelan chavista himself.

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