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On April 11 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was ousted from power but he was reinstated only 48 hours later amid allegations of U.S. involvement in the attempted coup. For Venezuelans the disruption in government is one more example of the economic and social divisions that threatened the stabilization of the country. Recently Latino USA correspondent Nina Alvarez traveled to Caracas, Venezuela for a firsthand view of how Venezuelans are copping and making sense of the events since April 11.

Former President Jimmy Carter recently made history by becoming the first U.S. President, either sitting or retired, to visit Cuba since the 1959 revolution. Much has changed on the communist island since Carter was president in the late 1970's. For commenter Tom Miller, who has traveled to Cuba for many years, those changes may hold the key to the future relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.

In Mexico gaining access to government information has historically been a nearly impossible task. For more than seventy years the PRI ruled unchallenged and during that time government records were basically sealed away from the public, which itself was conditioned to never ask for information, even basic information, such as the salary of the president was withheld from the public. Now that's about to change. Mexico has passed a freedom of information act giving Mexicans greater access to government records. From Mexico City, Latino USA's franc Contreras reports.

So what would you get if you combined a traditional Mexican record, a modern electronic cd, and mixed in some 1970's funk. Well you would get one Mexico's hottest bands ' it's called Kinky. Latino USA's Andrea Valdez recently met-up with Kinky in California and she has this profile.

Repository Details

Part of the Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin Repository

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(512) 495-4578