With the success of a referendum eliminating term limits this weekend, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez scored a victory in his campaign to style himself the champion of the poor and as the leader of region-wide opposition to the United States in Latin America. Unfortunately, the approach of the Bush administration toward Latin America strengthened Chavez, not weakened him, in his drive for autocratic power in Venezuela and demagogic status beyond it. A new approach to the region can begin with building a new partnership with rising democratic powers such as Brazil, expanding engagement toward the region to address a broader swath of issues, and taking symbolic concerns seriously – above all, with a start at dismantling many of the restrictive elements of the Cold War-era embargo against Cuba.
