Adios, Amigos
As Hillary Clinton travels through Latin America this week, the U.S. secretary of state will find it profoundly transformed from the relatively serene region she encountered as first lady in the 1990s.
Venezuela's longest-ever blackout, which began on March 7 and lasted until at least March 12 in most of the country, aggravated an already dire humanitarian situation, resulting in more than 20 deaths, widespread water shortages, the collapse of public transportation and communication systems, the looting of hundreds of businesses, and massive economic losses, including vast amounts of rotten food. Lisa Viscidi presented on how grave government mismanagement of the power sector debilitated Venezuela's grid, making electricity rationing a routine and power failures commonplace, to a special meeting of the OAS Permanent Council on humanitarian aid to Venezuela.
https://twitter.com/OAS_official/status/1110969006444421122
As Hillary Clinton travels through Latin America this week, the U.S. secretary of state will find it profoundly transformed from the relatively serene region she encountered as first lady in the 1990s.
Insulza appears to be headed for reelection as Secretary General of the OAS. The Chilean diplomat is gathering support throughout the hemisphere. The US and Venezuela are among the holdouts.
The OAS needs to be reformed, but the changes need to emerge from accurate analysis of the problems confronting both Latin America and the OAS.