Continuity Likely Even Without Chávez

[Bacchus4.0]

6. looks that way to me

He has criticized the role played by the IMF[11] and has taken an active role in developing the Bank of the South, a joint project by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela spearheaded by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and designed to make South America financially less dependent on the IMF and World Bank.[12][13] Weisbrot acted as a consultant to the governments concerned and has been described as the artífice intelectual, the intellectual architect, of the concept.[14][15]

two employees at CEPR used to work at the Venezuela Information Office, however the CEPR bios page does not mention that fact:

http://www.cepr.net/staff/

http://www.globalexchange.org/events/speaker/deborah-james

http://foreignlobbying.org/client/Embassy%20of%20the%20Bolivarian%20Republic%20of%20Venezuela/

Venezuela Information Office

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela_Information_Office

The Venezuela Information Office (VIO) was a Washington, DC-based lobbying agency with the goal of improving the perception of Venezuela in the United States;[1] its stated mission was "to prevent US intervention in Venezuela".[2] Founded in 2004 by the government of Venezuela,[3] VIO was funded by the Venezuelan government and therefore registered with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[4]

A key part of VIO's function was responding to negative coverage of Venezuela in the US media. In addition to maintaining a public websiteand a blog, VIO promoted its views in the media in a number of ways, including issuing press releases, contributing articles (such as responses to the 2008 Human Rights Watch report[5] on Venezuela[6][7]), and being available for interviews.

According to public records the VIO spent $379,000 on lobbying the US Congress in the years 2004 to 2007.[8] In 2004 it also contracted public relations company Lumina Strategies to improve the image of Hugo Chávez and of the Venezuelan government in the United States, supporting and coordinating the media relations work of the VIO