Campus News

Waiting for another lefty

David Smilde, an associate professor of sociology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was an expert source in a number of news stories related to the October presidential election in Venezuela.

After Hugo Chavez won re-election, Smilde was quoted in an Associated Press story about Chavez’s choice for a vice president, the left-leaning Nicolás Maduro.

“My guess is that making Maduro VP has a lot to do with Chavez’s health,” Smilde said. “As a potential successor to Chavez, Maduro is someone who would continue with the leftist elements of Chavez’s project, keep the base happy, continue close relations with Cuba, but perhaps be more comfortable in political negotiations than other potential successors or Chavez himself.”