Recent events around the globe have amply demonstrated that one person’s revolution is another’s coup.

Beginning in 1998, Latin America began taking a sharp turn to the political left with the election of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Argentina’s Néstor Carlos Kirchner, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and Chile’s Ricardo Lagos, among others. Following Chavez’s death, a reassessment of the region’s recent social and economic past — and future prospects — has commenced among scholars and media members.