There is no doubt that Hugo Chavez has caught our attention -- but it is more difficult to assess the impact that his words and actions have actually had.  Despite the rhetoric, trade between the U.S. and Venezuela has never been higher; Chavez's attempt to secure a seat on the UN Security Council for himself or one of his friends has failed; and it seems highly unlikely that Venezuela would ever curtail oil exports to the United States.  On the other hand, Chavez feeds rampant anti-Americanism in Latin America, he has undermined regional trade initiatives, he is pushing neighboring countries farther and farther to the left, and he is stockpiling a disconcerting amount of weaponry. 

    To help provide some clarity on what this all means for the United States and for Latin America at large, we are fortunate to hear from Michael Shifter, Vice President for Policy at the Inter-American Dialogue.  Mr. Shifter is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown, he is the former director of the Latin American and Caribbean program at the National Endowment for Democracy, and he has published widely on Latin American politics (including the article "In Search of Hugo Chavez" in the recent May/June Foreign Affairs ). 

    To attend this meeting, please RSVP to events@ypfp.org.  Space is limited, and this meeting is only open to YPFP members; to apply to YPFP online, click here.

Michael Shifter

Michael Shifter is vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue. Since 1993, he has been adjunct professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where he teaches Latin American politics. Shifter writes and talks widely on U.S.-Latin American relations and hemispheric affairs. His recent articles have appeared in major U.S. and Latin American publications such as The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Journal of Democracy, Harvard International Review, Clarin, O Estado de S. Paulo, and Cambio, and he is co-editor, along with Jorge Domínguez, of Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. He is also a contributing editor to Current History. Since 1996, he has frequently testified before Congress about U.S. policy towards Latin America. Prior to joining the Inter-American Dialogue, Shifter directed the Latin American and Caribbean program at the National Endowment for Democracy and, before that, the Ford Foundation's governance and human rights program in the Andean region and Southern Cone where he was based in Lima, Peru, and subsequently, in Santiago, Chile.