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GUEST: Gregory Wilpert, editor at VenezuelaAnalysis.com, and author of the forthcoming book, “Venezuela and the Quest for 21st Century Socialism”

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez recently attended a two-day summit of Mercosur leaders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He claimed he had come to “decontaminate” the South American geopolitical trade project of its “Neo-Liberalism.” Chavez’s visit to the summit comes more than a week after he was sworn-in for another term as President of Venezuela. Chavez took the oath of office and promised to lead his country towards what he calls “21st Century Socialism.” He also said he would deepen and radicalize the process during the course of his new presidential term. As part of this process, he outlined five “motors,” the first of which is a law that would allow for constitutional decrees for the next year and a half. President Chavez has also expressed a desire to nationalize Venezuela’s main telephone company as well as institute an indefinite number of presidential reelections. In terms of Venezuela’s path towards a 21st Century version of Socialism, Chavez noted that it would be patently different than the 20th Century Socialist models that governed Eastern Europe. Questions remain, however, about what Venezuela’s Socialist path will entail.