Cuba, Venezuela, and the Quest for Socialism: One and the Same?

[When discussing Latin America's so-called Left Turn, Cuba and Venezuela are often paired together as being of the more radical, militant faction of countries located on the Left within the region. There are indeed some legitimate grounds for such generalizations, but lost in this interpretation are many of the profound differences between each country's respective efforts and methods toward building a socialist society.]

Cuba, Venezuela, and the Quest for Socialism: One and the Same?

March 29th 2009, by John Kane - Znet

When discussing Latin America's so-called Left Turn, Cuba and Venezuela are often paired together as being of the more radical, militant faction of countries located on the Left within the region. There are indeed some legitimate grounds for such generalizations, but lost in this interpretation are many of the profound differences between each country's respective efforts and methods toward building a socialist society.

Cuba, Venezuela, and the Role of Democracy

In much analysis of both Cuba and Venezuela, social gains are often counterbalanced with criticism of each country's practice of democracy -- or lack thereof.[1] While I can't offer a thorough examination of each country's democratic structures here, the role of democracy does in fact play an interesting role in each country's prospects for building socialism.

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