This is not the Cuban Missile Crisis Part Two; the United States and Latin America are not sworn enemies for all time. However, the people and nations of Latin America have sent the United States a message: we are perfectly willing to do business with you, but as equals, not as pseudo-colonies.

The death of Hugo Chavez sent shock waves across the world. Who exactly died: a dictator or one of the strongest leaders in Latin America? His funeral was attended by the world leaders U.S. politicians hate the most, like the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. With elections in a month, the future of Venezuela is uncertain, especially after the death of a polarizing, yet popular leader of the masses. But Chavez’s death also reminds us that this still isn’t about Venezuela. To the U.S., Venezuela’s future is and will always remain a question of self and economic interest, and never about the needs and wants of those suffering.

May Day, the only international holiday advocating workers rights, has just passed again. Unfortunately the celebration is not acknowledged in the United States.