Hugo Chavez Dies: Saviour or tyrant?

Hugo Chavez would proudly say that his job was to kick sand into the eyes of Uncle Sam. He was determined to curb American influence in the region, cosying up to Cuba's Fidel Castro while encouraging fellow Latin American countries to turn their backs on Washington. At home, he enjoyed broad support among his nation's poor. Annette Young and her guests discuss the legacy of the polarising figure that was President Hugo Chavez.

DEBATE

Natalia BRANDLER, PhD in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, Latin America Specialist
Sarai SUAREZ, Venezuelan Journalist
Francisco DOMINGUEZ, Director of the Center of Latin American Studies, Middlesex University
Mark WEISBROT, Co-director of the Centre for Economic and Policy Research
Watch the second part

Programme prepared and produced by Diaraye Bah, Anelise Borges and Mary Colombel

Presenter

François Picard

17/06/2013 - THE DEBATE

Iran's new President: Change you can believe in?

The election of Hassan Rohani catches most – but not all – of François Picard’s panel by surprise. Now with sanctions biting and the economy in a tailspin, will the ruling clerics dig in their heels or let the president-elect really reform?

13/06/2013 - THE DEBATE

Iran: What hope for the reformists? (part 2)

On the face of it, a boycott seems the most sensible option for those who supported the green revolution back in 2009 when Mahmoud Ahmedinedjad won his controversial second term. Yet there are suggestions that something unexpected may be happening in Iran. Melissa Bell and her panel discuss whether there is hope for the reformists on the eve of the presidential elections.

13/06/2013 - THE DEBATE

Iran: What hope for the reformists?

12/06/2013 - THE DEBATE

Lebanon on edge: Hezbollah and the Syrian spillover (part 2)

One hour’s drive is all it takes to reach the border with Syria from the seaside in the capital Beirut. But, if the capital seems oblivious to it all, hundreds have been killed and scores more wounded in Lebanon’s second city of Tripoli, where the sectarian divide has long been bitter. François Picard and his panel discuss, from Beirut, whether the spillover from Syria's civil war could push neighbouring Lebanon over the edge.