The corporate media coverage of Venezuela has always placed its focus on Chávez and Maduro, what the government did or said. This narrative, and the respective counter-narrative, ignore one key element of the Bolivarian Process: popular power.

The second episode of the Venezuelanalysis podcast focuses on grassroots organizations under conditions of duress: a years-long economic crisis and devastating US sanctions.

Host José Luis Granados Ceja first talks to fellow VA member Cira Pascual Marquina on how communes, described by Chávez as the “unit cell” for the construction of socialism, have survived, or even thrived, in the current context. We also feature young communard leader Jesús García from the Altos de Lídice Socialist Commune in Caracas. García talks about how a commune works, the contradictions that emerge with the state and how popular organizations are best suited to address people’s problems.

Music:

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Gino González - Todos nosotros con Chávez