By Kyle Almond, CNN

Two high-profile elections came to a head this past weekend, with voters in France and Greece taking their countries in a new direction.

But there’s still much more to watch for in 2012, a year in which nearly a third of the world’s countries are casting ballots.

FULL POST

Editor’s Note: The following piece, exclusive to GPS, comes from Wikistrat, the world's first massively multiplayer online consultancy.  It leverages a global network of subject-matter experts via a crowd-sourcing methodology to provide unique insights.

This Sunday, the historically disorganized Venezuelan opposition movement is holding its first-ever presidential primary to decide upon a single candidate to challenge long-time strongman Hugo Chavez. With regional governor Henrique Capriles expected to prevail, the aging Chavez faces a younger version of himself: namely, a dynamic rising star promising to transform the political landscape. This time, however, the figure is moving it away from the heavy-handed populism initiated by Chavez after he swept into office in 1998.

Over the course of his tenure, Chavez’s pursuit of “21^st century socialism” in Venezuela has propelled him to self-declared “president for life” status. Among his accomplishments are the systematic and brutal persecution of political opponents and critical journalists, the stacking of parliament with his supporters, various cash-payment programs to the voting poor to ensure his popularity, and - in a related dynamic - the general undermining (aka, looting) of the country’s primary economic engine, the national oil company known as PDVSA. Chavez has also turned Venezuela into one of the most crime-ridden nations in the world with the annual inflation averaging close to 30 percent. FULL POST

Editor's Note: Michael Penfold is Associate Professor at the Institute for Higher Administrative Studies in Caracas and co-author of Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela. 

By Michael Penfold, Foreign Affairs

In October, Venezuelans will head to the polls for the fourth presidential vote since Hugo Chávez took power in 1999. With the announcement earlier this week by Leopoldo Lopez that he is ending his candidacy and throwing his support to Henrique Capriles Radonski, the young and charismatic governor whom many expect to be Chávez's main contender, the opposition is gradually consolidating its power. It is slowly becoming a more serious challenge to the regime in Caracas, which remains electorally competitive itself.

The stakes are higher than at any point in the last decade, for both the government and the opposition. A Chávez defeat would signal the end of a leftist revolution that has radically transformed Venezuela and, some argue, Latin America in the twenty-first century. A Chávez victory, however, would inflict a fatal blow to a renewed opposition that has struggled, and now seems to be succeeding, to gain some traction in a socially polarized country. FULL POST

By Fareed Zakaria, CNN

Last week saw the debut of a big new regional alliance. Thirty three countries came together to promote relations in the Americas. But, guess what – America itself (that is, the United States of America) was missing. And that was the point.

What in the World is going on?

To explain, let me tell you a bit more about the summit. It's called "CELAC" - a Spanish acronym for "the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States." It was held in Caracas, Venezuela, and the organizer was none other than that perennial America basher - President Hugo Chavez.

With great fanfare, Chavez proclaimed the summit to be the region's most important political event in more than a century - there would now be
complete "independence" from American interference.

Chavez made a point of hosting Cuba - a country he subsidizes, and one with which Washington has no formal relations. He also read out a letter of congratulations for creating the new regional bloc - the letter was from Hu Jintao, China's president. FULL POST

By Sarah Childress, GlobalPost

Former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was confirmed killed on Thursday, didn't have a lot of friends.

He was never really welcomed in the circle of Arab leaders, who considered him more of an African than one of them. When Gadhafi turned south, he found few supporters among African leaders.

All that makes Gadhafi's friendship with Hugo Chavez even more particular. Venezuela's president has been a staunch ally of Gadhafi from the beginning.

Chavez has been battling cancer, flying to Cuba regularly for medical care. He returned on Thursday from Havana after another round of treatment, but didn't have anything immediately to say about his friend's death.

But as the rebellion in Libya began, Chavez was out front, condemning the uprising. FULL POST

By Fareed Zakaria, CNN

What do Hugo Chavez and Glenn Beck have in common? The socialist/populist president of Venezuela and the right-wing talk show host often have strange ideas - just not the same ones. But it turns out, they are both gold bugs.

Now, many people have been investing in gold. But Hugo Chavez wants to horde it literally, physically. The Venezuelan government controls the world's 15th largest stockpile of gold: about 365 tons. But, like most gold investors, it doesn't really have that gold. At least not physically. More than half of Venezuela's reserves are held overseas in London, New York and Zurich. If you ever visit the New York federal reserve, you can even see it in the underground vaults, neatly labelled as Venezuela's. FULL POST

By Fareed Zakaria, CNN

What got my attention recently was the video above of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro shooting the breeze in their track suits.

Fidel Castro, of course, led Cuba for 50 years, starting in 1959. His pal Hugo Chavez has been president of Venezuela since 1999.

Chavez has been in Cuba to undergo chemotherapy for his recently revealed cancer.

He could have summoned the very best doctors to his home. He was invited to go to a world class cancer facility in Brazil. But he chose Havana.

Cuba has a cheap and surprisingly good healthcare system, but Chavez's attachment to Cuba is more than just medical - it's political. He's making the statement that he supports the Cuban model.

Unfortunately, that model is crumbling. It is totally out of sync with the modern world. FULL POST