Don't miss AlJazeera's 'Empire' this week

[subsuelo]

(first showing is 3pm EST today)

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/empire/2009/07/200972982915471266.html">Empire: Viva la Evolucion

The US has long exerted political and military influence in the region but with a succession of elected leaders such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Ecuador's Rafael Correa rejecting such influence a new era of US-Latin American relations is emerging.

Upon his election as US president, Barack Obama promised closer cooperation with regional neighbours, including efforts to improve relations with Communist Cuba.

In this month's Empire Marwan Bishara and his guests examine the state of North-South relations in the hemisphere, question the extent and potential impact of the change promised by Obama, analyse the alternative political model posed by Hugo Chavez and ask whether President Lula da Silva of Brazil is now another counter-point for the region.

In a special interview Professor Noam Chomsky discusses US-Latin America relations and the repercussions of the crisis in Honduras.

Empire can be seen from Wednesday, July 29, at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 1900; Thursday: 0300, 1400; Friday: 0600.

I recommend downloading Livestation to get the AlJazeera English live feed http://www.livestation.com/