Venezuelanalysis Podcast

On today’s episode, we present to you two new books on Venezuela. The first is “A War Without Bombs: The social, political and economic impact of sanctions against Venezuela” written and published by the Venezuelanalysis team.

The book is now available to everyone to download for free on our brand new website. A War Without Bombs aims to provide Venezuelanalysis readers, internationalists, activists, and people committed to social justice with the tools to understand the devastating impact of the blockade on the people of Venezuela.

Host José Luis Granados Ceja speaks with Venezuela Analysis’ Cira Pascual Marquina about the thinking behind a book on sanctions, its content, and the stories within that detail what working people in Venezuela are doing to build a socialist alternative in a country under siege.

We’ll also look at Commune or Nothing! Venezuela’s Communal Movement and its Socialist Project by Chris Gilbert, professor of political studies at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela. Chris talks to us about the place of communes in Venezuela’s socialist project, as well as their place as a site of struggle and resistance against the US economic blockade.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Iskra - El Imperio mismo

On today’s program we’re looking into the bipartisan imperialist consensus in Washington when it comes to Venezuela.

Following a recent US Congressional delegation to Brazil, Chile, and Colombia by Representatives Greg Casar, Nydia Velázquez, Joaquin Castro, Maxwell Frost, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, media outlets were once again filled with headlines about the need for the US to change its relationship with Latin America. Despite the potential for this trip to “replace” or “realign” the US-Latin America relationship, public comments by lawmakers following their trip, Democrats are still deeply wedded to the US imperialist project. 

To talk about the very real consequences of tepid and insufficient calls by so-called progressives to merely “review” US sanctions on Venezuela, Host José Luis Granados Ceja speaks with Hector Figarella, a Venezuela-born activist and organizer with the Anti-Imperialist Action Committee. Venezuela Analysis’ Andreína Chávez also joins the program to talk about her recent piece titled ‘Clear As The Full Moon’ about the harsh circumstances Venezuela has been forced to endure at the hands of imperialism.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Ali Primera - Canción para los valientes

At the end of June, dozens of popular power collectives gathered at the El Panal Commune in western Caracas to participate in the “Reflections on Communal Democracy” summit. It was a space to reflect and debate on the progress and challenges for the construction of socialism in Venezuela. 

In this podcast episode, host José Luis Granados Ceja is joined by Dahís Suárez and Iván Tamariz, from the Panal 2021 Commune which hosted the event. He also talks with fellow VA member Cira Pascual Marquina on the debates that took place and the bigger picture of grassroots struggles in Venezuela.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Leonardo Oropeza - Comuna o Nada

Trump’s recent candor about his push for regime change in Venezuela to secure access to oil proved that US support for the so-called interim government was never about democracy or human rights. It was always about imperialism and the neocolonial drive for the control of Venezuela’s resources. While the prospects of the US-backed opposition taking political power by force fizzled out swiftly, another plan has remained firmly in motion: the plunder of Venezuelan foreign assets.

VA’s Ricardo Vaz joins host José Luis Granados Ceja to talk about US efforts to keep the so-called interim government alive and its role as an instrument to facilitate the plunder of Venezuela’s assets and resources. 

We then talk with investigative journalist John McEvoy to look at the status of Venezuela’s gold in the UK and the political efforts by the UK’s political establishment to deny the government access to it.

Music: 

Armando Martinez - Mi Patria Soberana

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Following a day-long discussion about U.S. interventionism and efforts to resist imperialism at the Latin America and the Caribbean Policy Forum, host José Luis Granados Ceja is joined by Nick Estes from The Red Nation, Claudia De La Cruz from The People’s Forum, Teri Mattson of the WTF is Going on in Latin America and the Caribbean podcast, Hector Figarella from the Anti-Imperialist Action Committee, and Celina della Croce from the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, as well as Venezuelanalysis’ Greg Wilpert, to have a rich discussion about the fight to bury the Monroe Doctrine, ending sanctions on Venezuela, and drawing inspiration from the Bolivarian Revolution.

Last month, the National Anti-Corruption Police revealed alleged “serious acts of corruption" in state-owned oil company PDVSA. 

Fallout was swift, over 50 individuals have now been arraigned. The charges include misappropriation of public funds, influence peddling and money laundering. Some may even face treason charges. 

Calling the anti-corruption drive an “ethical, spiritual, and moral battle”, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said that those engaged in unscrupulous behavior were betraying the values of the Bolivarian Revolution.

In response to the US economic war, the Venezuelan government also implemented an anti-blockade law, it has helped the country survive but has ripple effects, namely a lack of transparency. It is in these obscured spaces where corruption can flourish. 

But corruption is not the only consequence of the economic war against Venezuela. The country is also battling inflation, which is severely impacting the working class in the country. 

When it comes to corruption and inflation, these two are also sites of class struggle. To explain, we will speak with Venezuelan economist and National Assembly member Tony Boza.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Hay que aligerar la carga - Alí Primera

“El Golpe de Timón” - was Hugo Chávez’s address to his cabinet of ministers on October 20th, 2012, shortly after his resounding reelection on October 7, 2012.

The speech, translated into English as “Strike at the Helm”, is considered his political testament, broadcast live over-the-air, it was his last major political address to his government and the Venezuelan people.

Today, as we commemorate the 10 year anniversary of his death on March 5, 2013, there is no better instrument to understand and appreciate the legacy of Chávez than this speech.

On today’s program we’re looking at the legacy of Hugo Chávez, 10 years removed from his death. To understand his impact on Venezuela, we have to go back in time, to Venezuela before Chávez. What were the conditions in the country that opened the door for a figure like Chávez? What was it about him that allowed him to tap into that discontent? What was it about his connection with the people that made him such a powerful leader?

To answer these questions and more, we will speak with Venezuelan activist, sociologist, and former government minister Reinaldo Iturriza López.

Host José Luis Granados Ceja also speaks with Venezueanalysis’ Cira Pascual Marquina about Chávez’s own political development from advocate for “third way” politics to one of the fiercest critics of capitalism, as well as his contributions to the development of socialist thought. 

Music:

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

El Combo Mas Na - Se Multiplicó 

Sanctions, also known as unilateral coercive measures, should primarily be understood as a tool of neocolonialism. Unilateral Coercive Measures are aimed at inflicting collective punishment on a sovereign state. In the case of Venezuela, they are driven by an effort to secure access to the country’s vast oil wealth, to once again bring Venezuela under the heel of US dominance in the region. Washington wants to also punish the Bolivarian Revolution for not bowing to its hegemony. 

On today’s program we’re looking at the efforts to resist the US neocolonial practice of sanctions. What is the Maduro government doing in the face of this challenge? Can we say there’s an economic recovery in Venezuela despite the imposition of unilateral coercive measures? And how are solidarity activists inside the belly of the beast organizing to end US sanctions?

To talk about the impact of unilateral coercive measures on Venezuela and efforts by activists in the US to resist sanctions policy, we will speak with Michelle Ellner, a Latin America campaign coordinator at CODEPINK. We also chat with Venezuela Analysis’ Ricardo Vaz about the state of Venezuela's economy today and what the Venezuelan government can do to address inequality in the country.

Music:

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Efren Clavo - La Caída del Imperio

With the year drawing to a close, the Venezuelanalysis staff recorded a special podcast episode. In this episode we take stock of the Venezuelan political landscape. Host José Luis Granados Ceja is joined by Cira Pascual Marquina, Andreína Chávez and Ricardo Vaz, each chose their "top story" for the year, analyzing different aspects of the Bolivarian Process, from popular power to anti-imperialist resistance. There was also time for a quick look ahead into the coming year and what could be in store for the South American nation, including the ongoing struggle for US sanctions relief and the return of stolen assets.

We focus on a complex issue: Venezuelan migration. We look at the causes behind the exodus of millions of Venezuelans and the dishonest, politicized propaganda surrounding the issue.

While coverage of Venezuela in the mainstream media is notoriously poor, when it comes to migration it has been flat out dishonest. Deliberately distorting the issue, the corporate media propaganda effort not only serves to hide the devastating impact US policy has on people’s lives, but also helps advance imperialism’s strategic goals. 

By laying the blame on the economic crisis driving migration solely at the feet of the government, the media feeds this narrative that the Maduro government is unable to even adequately attend to the needs of the population. That narrative helps craft the notion that foreign intervention in the country’s affairs is urgent and necessary.

To talk about those who are attempting to profit from the challenge of Venezuelan migration, the role of US regime change efforts, and what can be done to truly attend to the needs of migrants, we speak with Daymar Martes, an anthropologist and researcher with Venezuelan human rights organization SURES.