Dr. Barry Cannon, lecturer in politics in the Sociology department, was a guest on the BBC World Service's "Newshour Extra" recently as part of a panel discussing Venezuela.
From the programme website 'How has a country so rich in natural resources ended up so poor? That’s the question Owen Bennett Jones and his guests are discussing in this week’s Newshour Extra. Venezuela’s economy is in freefall, the shops are empty of even the most basic commodities, and its people are desperate. For a nation blessed with vast oil wealth, the descent into chaos has been spectacular. President Maduro’s government is widely blamed for the mess, but how much does the fault lie with the policies of former president Hugo Chavez, and, more recently, the low price of oil? Join Owen and his panel as they analyse these issues, and ask - what possible hope is there for a recovery in Venezuela?'
People can listen to the programme here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03vny34
Barry's research interests lie in Latin American politics, and he has recently published a book examining the responses of the right to the leftward shift in the Latin American region.