Saheli Chowdhury, Gabriel Martínez Saldívar, Steve Lalla Since the election of Hugo Chávez in 1998, Venezuela has been subjected to a campaign of hybrid warfare at the hands of the US and its allies. In that span of time the Bolivarian Republic has weathered six coups attempts including the attempted assassination of its president, a…
Category: BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION
“Bolívar’s Thinking Is Based On the Need for Human Progress”
Alex Anfruns A conversation between Alex Anfruns and Christine Pic-Gillard, author of a new study: Bolívar (Ellipses, 2020) The political and humanist stature of Simón Bolívar, leading figure of the Liberation of Latin America, continues to powerfully inspire the left movements of the continent. Simón Bolívar, a 19th century Venezuelan statesman, embodied the progressive ideals…
Chronicle of Planned Destruction: Parties and Politics
William SerafinoThere is an urgent need for a generational renewal of the opposition, which has bet on a low-intensity civil war to take power (Photo: Reuters) Venezuela has definitely entered a new electoral race with the announcement of the recently constituted National Electoral Council (CNE), which has scheduled the regional and municipal elections stipulated by…
Conflict in Colombia: Consequences and Solidarity Among Brotherly Peoples
Laura Cano The political, social and economic conflict in Colombia has its origins in the 19th century. Its roots are found in the contradictions that marked the first republic of this sister country. A supposedly republican state led by a classist, oligarchic, racist and patriarchal elite that betrayed the project of the Great Colombia and,…
Colonialism & Imperialism are the Root of Venezuela’s Economic Problems, Not Socialism
Steve Lalla The US oligarchy became wealthy by exploiting the labor and natural resources of peoples and lands across the Americas, Africa, and Asia. In our millennium, Venezuela’s assets were seized by an empire in decline. As its economy continues to weaken, the US lashes out with increasingly desperate policies of economic “sanctions” against those…
Communes, Reaccommodations and the Criterion of Original Destruction
José Roberto Duque The communal activity in Venezuela takes on greater importance in times of U.S. siege and suffocation (Photo: Jesús Arteaga). Part I We agreed that we are going to found cities. The Communal City will be the city of the future, if those of us summoned to build it take the task and…
Venezuela’s Popular Democracy Under Siege: A Conversation with Elías Jaua
Cira Pascual Marquina Politician and intellectual Elías Jaua served under Chávez as agriculture minister and vice president. Under Nicolás Maduro’s presidency, he has been minister of foreign affairs, of communes, and of education. Now Jaua belongs to the PSUV direction, and he frequently writes about Venezuela, defending the country from imperialist attacks and speaking up…
Chávez’s Excesses
Reinaldo Iturriza Pollsters, who are prone to making politically and financially motivated generalizations, tend to conclude that the majority of Venezuela – about two thirds – does not currently identify with either Chavismo or anti-Chavismo. Polling firms have indulged in constructing an image of a mostly “independent” population reluctant to identify with either political camp…
Today, Defense of the Revolution Rests with the Media
Steve Lalla and Saheli Chowdhury Veteran combatant of Cuba’s revolutionary struggles, Comandante Víctor Dreke, in 2017. Photo: Le Soir/Dominique Duchesnes. Víctor Dreke, legendary commander of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, called for those defending the Revolution today to recognize that the battlefield of the 21st century is the media. The comments were made at a…
Special Economic Zones: Venezuela’s Strategy for Breaking the US Encirclement
Mauricio Montes The Venezuelan government is fine-tuning the legal framework to strengthen the special economic zones (SEZs) already existing in its territory and to open space for foreign direct investment in a production scheme favorable to the Bolivarian nation. Although the experiences of foreign investment have left little to Venezuela, the national Executive observes the…
The Private Sector in Venezuela
Pasqualina Curcio There are many myths about the private sector in Venezuela, the best known referring to its unquestionable efficiency. The following phrases are part of this mythology: “unlike the public sector, which is inefficient and corrupt, the private sector is the only guarantee of development” or “the only one that could get us out…
How Venezuela is Rebuilding its Industrial Base, One Volunteer at a Time
Leonardo Flores Member of the Productive Workers Army (EPO) in the midst of a work day. Photo: EPO An organization of 2,270 volunteer workers is helping Venezuela boost its industrial capacity, devastated by years of US economic sanctions. “We don’t just repair machines; we repair consciences,” says Sergio Requena of the Productive Workers Army (EPO…
