Chavez is getting ever bolder.  As he consolidates all instruments of state power into his hands, undermining Venezuelan democracy in the process (as commented on previous posts on this blog), he has also struck out in a new direction in the international realm: independence from the international financial system. 

Chavez’s government announced during the first week of May that it planned to withdraw its membership from the International Monetary Fund, a first for a major emerging market country.  The announcement created a momentary panic amongst financial analysts because many of Venezuela’s sovereign bonds contain clauses which stipulate ...   more »

When DFID withdrew their bilateral programmes in Honduras, Peru and Bolivia, civil society was fast to point out that, among other things, there were many poor Latin Americans who needed urgent assistance. DFID should have stayed to look after them. There are other reasons too for supporting DFID’s direct involvement in Latin American countries. DFID left a space in policy debate that was not filled by other donors (or by the government) and many of the progressive ideas it had supported have suffered to remain in the policy and research agendas.

ODI’s mid-term evaluation of DFID’s RAP...   more »