The Organization of American States is scheduled to meet in Panama next week, and its head – Jose Miguel Insulza – hopes that the recent tension between the United States and Venezuela will not overshadow the event. Instead, Insulza explained, he hopes that the meeting will focus on the monumental occasion that is Cuba’s first time attending a meeting of the organization. Insulza explained:
I hope that we all understand that we’re putting an end to a situation that’s lasted 50 years (…) I hope that the attendees will not deviate too far from this historic achievement.
When asked by reporters if he believed the United States was expecting to grapple with Venezuela at the meeting over the sanctions, Insulza said:
Honestly, that’s not what the United States wants. I don’t think that’s [the Obama] administration’s goal. I hope that there’s discretion from the other side. Conversations and discussions are allowed. It doesn’t matter what is said so much as the tone with which it is said, as well as the willingness to resolve [the issues] or not.
Cuba’s relationship with the Organization of American States is an interesting one. While the country is technically a member of the group, it was banned from attending meetings in 1962. When asked about the possibility of allowing Cuba to be represented at the organization again, Insulza said:
[Our doors] are open to Cuba because it is a member of the OAS. It signed our original charter and it’s never withdrawn its signature. I hope that the new secretary general [Luis Almagro, taking over for Insulza in May] will be able to push for this.
The organization will meet in Panama City, Panama on April 10 and 11.
The Economist Writes Piece on Venezuela
A piece on this week’s edition of The Economist titled “Maduro’s Muzzle” looks at a frightening trend in Venezuelan politics: the lack of information from the government regarding important socio-economic indicators. For example, the article points out the fact that the Banco Central de Venezuela last released inflation data in December, leaving Venezuelans to guess how the country’s inflation problem is faring.
Aside from cracking down on independent media, the article argues, the Maduro government has also begun to engage in self-censorship in an attempt to hide dire facts about the country’s performance from the population. Victims of the self-censorship crusade include numbers on infectious disease rates from the Ministry of Health, poverty data from the National Statistical Institute, and production numbers from PDVSA.
The article concludes that Maduro, well-aware of the crisis in the country, is leading a concerted effort to keep Venezuelans in the dark about the situation in the country in a desperate attempt to prolong the life of his government.
In Venezuela 