February 19, 2019

Eric Draitser: Why All Options Are On The Table In Venezuela

9 minutes

In this segment of my discussion with political analyst Eric Draitser, I ask Eric expand upon his analysis of recent events in Venezuela, expressed in his piece in CounterPunch ‘Trump’s Coup in Venezuela: The Full Story,’ in which Eric lays into the recent decision by the Trump Administration to back “interim president” Juan Guaido as the rightful leader of the nation.

Eric provides a fuller and richer picture of what is currently happening in Venezuela, in light of the recent decision by the Trump Administration — under the direction of President Donald Trump, VP Mike Pence, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and “special envoy” to Venezuela Elliot Abrams, among others — to back “interim president” of Venezuela Juan Guaido as the rightful leader of the nation, a process that has been described as a “democratic and constitutional transfer of power” by Bolton. In spite of the obvious reasons why the United States would be interested in deposing the elected government for its abundant resources (oil), Eric digs into the deeper reasons as to why this is happening: the Bolivarian Revolution (described as an ongoing process; imperfect but successful), enacted by Hugo Chavez under his tenure as President, emboldens and empowers regional resistance to Western influence — which includes the neoliberal economic agenda and U.S. military hegemony in Latin America — allowing Leftist social movements in the region to grow and thrive, as has been the case in recent decades. The Bolivarian Revolution stands as a threat to the Monroe Doctrine, an outlook espoused within United States foreign policy toward Latin America in general, giving the United States the ideological justification to impose its will upon Latin American nations to further its own interests. Eric exposes the underlying mechanisms that have lead to the escalation of tensions between the United States and Venezuela, the Maduro government and the Capitalist class in Venezuela, as well as between regional players (Colombia) and the Venezuelan government.

Eric Draitser is an independent political analyst, writes regularly for CounterPunch, and is the host of CounterPunch Radio. Read Eric’s excellent analysis of the situation in Venezuela: http://bit.ly/2N62PO7

This is a segment of episode #174 of Last Born In The Wilderness “Revolution Interrupted: Venezuela; Belligerent America; An Unfolding Coup w/ Eric Draitser.” Listen to the full episode: http://bit.ly/LBWdraitser

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