VENEZUELA

• Well it's over and it appears the no vote has won, which means Hugo Chávez and his supporters have defeated the attempt to remove him from office.

• The Carter Center and the Organization of American States have said that the official findings are consistent with their counts and that there doesn't appear to be any pattern of fraud in the voting.

• Venezuelan bloggers and Chávez opponents, Miguel Octavio and Francisco Toro are also obviously disappointed, but acknowledging that it appears that Chávez has pulled out a significant victory.

• Oil prices have also eased in the wake of the Chávez victory. Indeed, the oil industry may be most relieved about Chávez's victory.

• JK: Michael Totten (whose view of Chavez has changed) He was wrong about Chavez' defeat, he says... but not wrong about Chavez.

• JK: Marc Cooper and Randy Paul would appear to agree re: Chavez. Their pre-vote opinions of Chavez' opposition may help to explain the referendum results.

• Marcela Sánchez sums this up as: the status quo may be preferable to the unknown.

• No doubt there will be plenty of post-mortems in the press and among the opposition as to what happened. My thoughts are that there are two primary reasons. First, the opposition was unified solely by their distaste for Chávez. I cannot recall many ideas other than the ouster of Chávez among any of the accounts I read. If I'm wrong, please clarify in the comments. The second reason is the amount of cash from the sale of Venezuela's oil that Chávez could lavish on the needy. Pork is the universal political lubricant.

• What does the future hold? I think we all wait with trepidation. Will Chávez be magnanimous in victory? Will the opposition be gracious in defeat? It's far too soon too tell and emotions on both sides are still too raw. Stay tuned. For the best sources on Venezuela add Caracas Chronicles and The Devil's Excrement to your favorites list.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

• Leonel Fernandez was sworn in on Monday as President of the Dominican Republic for the second time. He had previously served as president from 1996 to 2000, when the country's economy was virtually humming.

• This time it won't be as easy. To say that Fernandez will be inheriting a veritable Pandora's box of problems would grossly understate the situation. The nation has US$6 billion in foreign debt, 16% unemployment, double digit inflation of some 32%, and a weak currency. Many have become so desperate that they have taken to the seas with tragic results. To add salt to the wounds, there will probably be little money for social spending, tax increases are in the offing and Fernandez's party is a minority in congress.

• I'm going to the Dominican Republic on Friday and hope to have some more to add on this nation next month.

COLOMBIA

• Indicted alleged narco-trafficker Salvatore Mancuso and two other leaders of the right-wing terrorist paramilitary group, the AUC were allowed to address Colombia's Congress and plead their case for impunity amnesty for leading an organization that kidnapped, murdered and extorted.

• The show of support for Mancuso and company outside the Congress certainly appeared to be stage-managed. The US Ambassador called the appearance scandalous and rightfully so. Mancuso and his ilk as well as the FARC have not only financed their activities with criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, but they have also lined their pockets with the proceeds.

• Nevertheless, I am truly torn when I read that three factions of the AUC have agreed to disarm. I cannot help but feel that this may be the start of some peace for the majority of Colombians trying to live decent lives, but I also feel that the entire process is rewarding criminals. If anything it continues to convince me that there are no simple solutions here.

PERU

• Peruvian President, Alejandro Toledo is the winner of a dubious distinction. A recent poll gave him the lowest approval ratings of any Latin American leader: 8%. That's not a typo, by the way: eight percent.

• Of course, the recent inauguration of a natural gas project raised Toledo's approval ratings to 10%, but allegations of bribery and the strength of two former presidents (including the awful Alan Garcia, but not the odious Alberto Fujimori) who are playing the nationalist card in a dispute with Chile only add to Toledo's problems. One wonders if a restive public will wait for elections in 2006.

CUBA

• Last Friday, August 13 was Fidel Castro's birthday and I for one won't be celebrating. As I said last year, perhaps it's time to retire and consider a nice retirement community. I hear The Hague is nice. You and Slobo Milosevic could swap stories in your cells.

• Val Prieto, who writes Babalu Blog rounded up a number of blogger posts about Cuba, some of which are cultural, some personal, as well as my own contribution in which I tried to combine the personal, political and cultural. Click over and check them out.

Randinho's Latin America Briefing will be back next month, including news about my trips to the Dominican Republic and Brazil. Meanwhile, regular updates concerning Latin American events can be found at Beautiful Horizons.