In 1999, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez fired the entire Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) that had been running PDVSA’s back office for years*? SAIC had saved the nation $100 million a year while making PDVSA more productive and efficient. Chavez’s case against SAIC? That it was an American company that had worked for the CIA. [...]

Joseph S. Tulchin of Foreign Policy magazine has written an insightful piece on the power of Hugo Chavez in his nation of Venezuela, and the power of his nation in contemporary geo-politics. For the Summit of the Americas to be a stepping stone for US-Latin American relations and indeed equate to increased investment, President Obama [...]

CFP contributer David Harris provides a brief commentary on the recent announcement of a new regional currency, the Sucre, to be circulated throughout an alliance of Latin American and Caribbean governments: The Sucre (Sistema Único de Compensación Regional), translated in English means the “Unique System for Regional Compensation”.  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hopes for a common [...]

How do investors interested in Latin America view Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez landing in Beijing? Would they view it as a flamboyant fanatic’s desperate last leg of a world tour made to prop up a failing PDVSA? Would they view it as the final stop on a very successful and diverse investment campaign for Latin [...]

  Hugo Chavez and Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso today agreed to cooperate on oil and gas developments in the Latin American nation. Chavez is attempting to secure funds for energy projects after a 65 per cent decline in oil prices forced him to cut government spending in March. Last week, it was through a meeting with [...]

A good piece in the Financial Times points out that the gap between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s rhetoric and achievements is becoming visibly wide, as his well intentioned social programs are failing despite their healthy budgets.  Lesson of the day:  not even 21st century socialism can work very well if the private sector is rendered [...]

This is my speech from the Houston World Affairs Council on May 19, 2008 – covering the comparative investment environments of Venezuela and Nigeria, the rise of state-owned energy companies, the decline of Washington’s soft power, and the new competition gap facing investors.