In an interesting and balanced article on Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009... reports on Chavez's remarkable accomplishments, and his failures. Economically, there is no doubt that the country is in much better shape:

Today a third of the population is classified as poor, compared with half in 1998. Extreme poverty is said to have tumbled even more dramatically, from 42% to 9.5%. Inequality narrowed and Venezuela rose up the UN's human development index. Social programmes known as "missions" widened access to health and education and reduced illiteracy. The economy ballooned by 526%, unemployment was halved to 6% and Venezuela instituted Latin America's highest minimum wage at $372 (£254.80) a month.

However, the state of the countries infrastructure and social problems is not so good:

Corruption and bureaucratic chaos - ministers rotated with bewildering frequency - atrophied infrastructure and public services. Roads and hospitals deteriorated, a housing shortage worsened and jails remained shockingly overcrowded and violent. Some prisoners languish for years without trial.

It will be interesting to see what Obama's relationship with Chavez will look like, and whether Obama will continue to refer to him as a dictator as his predecessor did. The region is changing, and leftist movements are spreading quickly. Whatever the U.S may think, it must come to accept the new reality in Latin America. And that means dealing with Hugo Chavez.