Venezuela

Emiliano Teran Mantovani argues Steve Ellner’s defence of Venezuela’s Maduro government reflects a tendency on the left to defend decaying regimes rather than chart out alternative paths rooted in popular struggles.

Steve Ellner — Gabriel Hetland’s article “Capitalism and authoritarianism in Maduro’s Venezuela” presents a one-sided and decontextualised view of Venezuela under Maduro. 

Gabriel Hetland — Maduro’s authoritarianism has garnered significant attention, but there has been less notice of the transformation in Maduro’s class base.

Steve Ellner — During his first term, Trump exerted a “maximum pressure” campaign against perceived US adversaries in Latin America. But how committed is Trump to fighting Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua? Today, it is anyone’s guess.

Atenea Jiménez explains the origins and objectives of the Alliance for Sovereignty and Democracy, how the new Donald Trump presidency might impact Venezuelan politics and the need for solidarity with Venezuela’s left.

Steve Ellner — Trump’s threats against Panama, Canada and Greenland, albeit unachievable, lay the groundwork for a more “rational” strategy of targeting China and singling out real adversaries such as Cuba and Venezuela.

Two articles by members of the National Independent Autonomous Workers’ Coordinating Committee discuss the implications of Maduro’s inauguration after the disputed July 28 presidential elections and the dangers of his proposed constitutional reforms.

Comunes — With Chávez, we were moving in a revolutionary and popular direction. But in the past 10 years, the Bolivarian Revolution has lost protagonism and is no longer expressed in government policies. The results are in plain sight.

Luís Bonilla-Molina — The July 28 presidential election marked the start of a new phase within Madurismo, one of deepening authoritarianism in order to stabilise its pro-capitalist regime.

Various revolutionary left groups and human rights organisations have released statements denouncing the wave of police repression unleashed in the lead up to Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration.

Luís Bonilla-Molina — To understand the situation of the Venezuelan working class, it is important to analyse the Maduro government and Madurismo in three phases.

A new left-wing political organisation, Comunes, has been launched in Venezuela to confront the government’s repressive authoritarianism, neoliberal economic policies and attacks on working people’s rights.