Dr Lyal White, Founding Director of the Centre for Dynamic Markets (CDM) and Senior Lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria
on
Latin America after Chavez
Date: Thursday, 9 May 2013
Time: 18h00 for 18h15
Venue: Jan Smuts House, East Campus, Wits University, Johannesburg
Click here to download the presentation [PDF]
The death of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, in March this year was the most significant event in Latin America in the past decade. Not since the death of Evita Peron in 1952 has the passing of a leader in the region captured such attention and emotion. Chavez was the arch-typical modern populist and Latino patriarch, the champion of the poor and the leader of Latin America’s ‘pink tide’ of radical leftism that swept across the region in the early 2000s. His impact on the region and the world is undeniable.
After 14 years at the helm, Chavez’s supporters and critics are still debating whether his contribution has been positive or negative. Income levels in Venezuela have increased and the number of people living in abject poverty has declined. But most would argue this has come at the cost of democracy and security. While Chavez provided hope and a voice for the poor and disenfranchised in Venezuela and beyond, with the largest oil reserves in the world Chavez may be remembered more as a dictator who threatened political rivals and squandered historic opportunities of the recent oil boom.
Dr. Lyal White will evaluate the impact of Hugo Chavez in Latin America and explore the shifts and changes in modern Latin America in a post-Chavez era.
About Dr. Lyal White
Dr. Lyal White is the founding Director of the Centre for Dynamic Markets (CDM) and a Senior Lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria.
As Director for the CDM he drives research and learning in dynamic markets at GIBS. He also leads monthly executive network meetings to discuss issues of interest and importance in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Dr. White advises and writes on strategic political economy issues in Africa, Asia and Latin America relevant to business and policy makers.
He has lived and worked in South Africa, Rwanda, Argentina, Colombia, Morocco and the US, and is associated with a number of institutions across the globe. He has also taught at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, and was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Latin American studies (CLAS) at UC Berkeley. He has also given guest lectures at the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University, CEDEP in Fontainbleau, France and Science Po – Bordeaux, France.
Dr. White is widely published in news media and academic journals.
