Analysis: Participation

We’ve Definitely Arrived at the Inevitable

chris — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:14:00 +0000

Roland Denis - Aporrea

One prominent Venezuelan intellectual and activist’s perspective on the current political situation and tasks ahead, Denis argues that there is a larger opening now for the opposition to take power, and that the grassroots are talking of regrouping, and are at a “critical crossroads”.

In Revolution, the Disabled Have a Voice

tamara — Sun, 05 May 2013 15:01:36 +0000

Jody McIntyre - CdOI

The corridors are always packed in the Metropolitan Council of Popular Power for People with Disabilities, situated in a building just down the street from Plaza Diego Ibarra in Caracas. Wheelchairs come and go, sometimes squeezing to the side in order to let another person pass ﬁrst...

Venezuela: Ups and Downs of an Election Observer

chris — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:34:52 +0000

Julia Buxton - Latin American Bureau

Julia Buxton has been an observer at elections in Venezuela for nearly twenty years. In April 2013 this was the first election without Hugo Chávez since 1999. This is her report.

The Challenge of the Bolivarian Revolution: To Start Again

chris — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:32:39 +0000

Reinaldo Iturriza - Saber y Poder

A couple of friends agreed that the close result of 14 April was equivalent to starting again. “It’s as if we were just beginning” and “it’s like going back to 2002” each one commented to me in different moments. I think that this assessment, correct in my opinion, encloses one of the keys to treading firmly in such a shifting political moment.

Understanding the Venezuelan Presidential Election Outcome

tamara — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:42:45 +0000

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

Why was the presidential election result so close, and why did some government supporters switch to supporting Capriles? As the opposition causes violence around the country, calling "fraud", what was it that worked with Capriles' campaign, and that didn't with Maduro's?

A Valuable Venezuelan Revolutionary Experience

tamara — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:19:51 +0000

Ángel Guerra Cabrera - Rebelion

El barrio 23 de enero is a solid bulwark of the Bolivarian Revolution. Originally named December 2 to evoke the date when the dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez came to power, its humble neighbors decided in 1958 to rename it with another date; his overthrow.

So-Called ‘Civil Society’ in Post-Chávez Venezuela

ryan — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:48:42 +0000

George Ciccariello-Maher- Center for Economic and Policy Research

There is a powerfully dangerous and condescending myth circulating about so-called ‘civil society’ in Venezuela.

Polls Give Strong Leads to Nicolas Maduro

chris — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 01:10:37 +0000

Lee Brown - Venezuela Solidarity Campaign

With 10 days to go until Venezuelans elect their next President, polls show that Hugo Chávez’s favoured successor, Nicolas Maduro, is set to achieve another landslide victory for the progressive alliance that has governed Venezuela since 1998.

The 14 April Venezuelan Presidential Election Campaign: Start of a New Era

tamara — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:09:09 +0000

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

Although the results of the presidential elections in a few weeks are quite predictable, we are going through a fragile, vulnerable period, with a future that is less predictable. These elections, because of their place in history- the start of the era of the Bolivarian revolution without Chavez – have some special characteristics and factors.

Chavez: the Man and His Dream

chris — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:55:46 +0000

JOSÉ PERTIERRA- CounterPunch

When Americans ask me why there is such an outpouring of emotion among Venezuelans over the death of this man, I point out that the ordinary people of Venezuela saw themselves in President Chávez. The President was a compendium of the very fabric of the country.

A Militia Woman Who Did Everything to See Chavez

chris — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:00:22 +0000

Ciudad CCS

The image of a young woman in front of President Hugo Chavez’s casket with her hand on her heart and her left fist in the air was spread around the world, to become a symbol of the continuation of the Bolivarian revolution.

Chávez's Legacy: Building, with People, an Alternative Society to Capitalism

chris — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:44:43 +0000

Marta Harneker

When Hugo Chávez triumphed in the 1998 presidential elections, the neoliberal capitalist model was already floundering. The choice then was whether to re-establish the neoliberal capitalist model, or to go ahead and try to build another model.

South America: A Panorama of Media Democratization

ewan — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:13:16 +0000

Alexandra Hall - NACLA

Media in Latin America have traditionally been consolidated into the hands of a few wealthy families and large media conglomerates. Over the last decade and a half, however, several governments in the region, including Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay, have moved to democratize media.

Grassroots Activists Speak on Chavez’s Absence: “We’ll Fight Even Harder”

tamara — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 03:13:45 +0000

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

If anyone is clearest about what Chavez’s absence means and what it could mean in the future, it is the grassroots activists and revolutionaries in Venezuela. While private international and national media paint a picture of hopelessness, economic chaos, a power vacuum and power struggles in Venezuela, the grassroots are experiencing a different reality, and have a much more positive outlook for the future.

Venezuela: the Campaign of the Opposition is Provoking a Revolutionary Backlash

tamara — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 02:10:46 +0000

Jorge Martín - In Defence of Marxism

Taking advantage of Chavez’s ill health, the Venezuelan oligarchy and imperialism have renewed their campaign of destabilisation against the Bolivarian Revolution. They risk unleashing the wrath of the workers and the poor.

‘Learning to Govern Ourselves’: Venezuela’s National Network of Commoners

ewan — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:54:56 +0000

Rebecca McMillan and Calais Caswell – Upside Down World

Between November 30-December 2, 2012, some 200 Venezuelan community organizers and activists met to debate proposals for the future of the revolutionary state. The occasion was the first congress of the National Network of Commoners (Red Nacional de Comuneros, RNC).

Venezuela’s State Elections: When Winning Comes before Revolution

chris — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:50:16 +0000

Tamara Pearson - VENEZUELANALYSIS.COM

Internal debate and criticism of the PSUV and its current state election campaign, as well as proper grassroots involvement, has been put off, and put off, because in this incredibly democratic country there is always some kind of election coming up. Yet for how long will such sacrifices be made in the name of defeating the capitalist opposition?

Analyzing the Debate on Chavez’s Socialist Plan: Interview with Venezuelan Academic Javier Biardeau

ewan — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:30:29 +0000

Hector Escalante / Javier Biardeau – Correo del Orinoco International

Javier Biardeau, Professor of Sociology at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), analyses the what the debate underway over Hugo Chavez’s Socialist Plan of the Nation means for democracy in Venezuela.

Democratizing Media in Latin America: An Interview with Carlos Ciappina

ewan — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:39:14 +0000

Alexandra Hall - NACLA

Carlos Ciappina, secretary of the Journalism and Social Communication School of the National University of La Plata, Argentina, explains why the school decided to award Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez a prize for popular communication in 2011, and discusses democratisation of media in Latin American more generally.

Viva Venezuela! New Documentary Released

chris — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:37:00 +0000

RCG - Revolutionary Communist Group

The British political organization Revolutionary Communist Group has released a new documentary, Viva Venezuela!, about the fight to build socialism in Venezuela and the 2012 elections.

The Opposition Will Beat Us in 2018 if We Don’t Rectify our Errors

chris — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:57:16 +0000

Luigino Bracci - El Espacio De Lubrio

Venezuelan blogger and journalist Luigino Bracci analyzes the significance of electoral trends and why support for the opposition has grown faster than support for Chavez in recent years. He argues that if current trends continue, the opposition will win the presidency in 2018.

Venezuelan vs US Elections: A Democratic Example

ewan — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 23:02:48 +0000

Ryan Mallett-Outtrim – Green Left Weekly

One notable lesson the US could learn from Venezuela is that democracy works best when it isn't exclusionary. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, this year as many as 5 million Americans were put at risk of being excluded from voting, due to new laws. Last year, a study by the centre found that “[m]inorities, poor and young voters will likely be most affected”.

What U.S. Voters Can Learn from Venezuela’s Election

ewan — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:48:37 +0000

Keane Bhatt - NACLA

The era that preceded Chávez’s 1998 election has echoes of the current predicament of U.S. politics—two major parties with fairly similar agendas took turns managing the country’s governmental institutions while elites controlled the country’s resources. Venezuela’s democracy, like much of Latin America’s, has meant a break with that past.

Michael Lebowitz on What We Can Expect from Chavez's Fourth Term as Venezuelan President

ewan — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 23:32:45 +0000

Michael Lebowitz - Novosti Newspaper

Author and academic Michael Lebowitz discusses the internal dynamics of the Bolivarian movement and prospects for the project of socialism of the 21st century in Venezuela in the coming period.

Venezuela: Power from the Ground Up

Rachael — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:53:03 +0000

Jody McIntyre - Disability Now

The law for people with disabilities, passed in 2006, took further steps. As well as requiring public transport to include facilities to ensure access for disabled people, it also made it compulsory for all companies to have disabled people in five per cent of their positions. Coming from a country where disabled people are currently being penalised for supposedly avoiding work, the difference in approach is easy to notice.

Comrade Chavez, If You Want to Know What Happened to the Communes, Ask the People

ewan — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:37:36 +0000

Atenea Jiménez Lemon – The National Network of Communards

It worried us to hear the president asking "where are the communes". Humbly, and with revolutionary determination we say to Comrade Chavez, if you want to know where the communes are, then you should ask the people directly!

Socialist Transformation in an Oil-Dependent Economy: a Venezuelan Perspective

tamara — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 21:42:28 +0000

Pablo Gimenez and Revolutionary Communist Group

Pablo Gimenez is a Professor of political economy at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV) in Caracas. He spoke about the challenges posed by Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy and about the difficulties involved in trying to forge a new way of teaching political economy in the context of the Bolivarian Revolution.

Developing the Power of the Community

tamara — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:11:38 +0000

Sam McGill - Revolutionary Communist Group

Today we had the chance to visit the Alexis Vive collective near Agua Salud, Caracas and interview Ana Marin, militant of the the collective and key member of the 'El Panel 2021' commune.

Venezuelans Vote for Socialism: An Eyewitness Account

ewan — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:28:29 +0000

Pip Hinman – Green Left Weekly

Nothing quite prepares you for a first visit to Venezuela ― especially when the country is polarised between two very different visions for the future. The atmosphere was like nothing I'd experienced in any election campaign in Australia.

Investing in Democracy: Elections in Venezuela

ewan — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:43:12 +0000

Susan Scott and Azadeh Shahshahani – National Lawyers Guild

The US National Lawyers Guild reports on their experience as part of an official accompaniment delegation to the Venezuelan presidential elections, and reflects on the nature and importance of elections in Venezuela more widely.