Analysis: Politics

Former US Ambassador Outlines Post-Election Interventions against Venezuela

By Lee Brown - Venezuela Solidarity Campaign , Sep 17th 2012

Former US Ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy (US State Department)

In an extraordinary paper released this week, former US Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, outlined a range of military, financial and diplomatic measures that the US should be prepared to take against the Chavez government after the coming elections on October 7th.

The Chavez Election

By Steve Ellner - El Monde Diplomatique, Sep 10th 2012

Chavez at a campaign rally in Charallave, Miranda state, Sunday 9 September (EFE)

Steve Ellner examines the political dynamics of the Venezuelan presidential election, as well as the national and international importance of the result on 7 October.

Venezuelan Opposition Jumps on National Tragedy

By Correo del Orinoco International , Aug 31st 2012

The fires resulting from the gas explosion at the Amuay refinery last Saturday have now been extinguished (informecifras.com).

In the aftermath of this weekend’s tragic oil refinery explosion, the Venezuelan opposition and its allies in the private media issued a series of baseless claims aimed at fomenting fears and winning over voters.

“Open Horizons”: An Interview with Roland Dennis

By Susan Spronk and Jeffery R. Webber - The Bullet, Aug 25th 2012

Susan Spronk and Roland Denis. (Spronk & Webber)

Roland Denis is a leading intellectual and revolutionary in Venezuela. He served as Vice Minister of Planning in the Hugo Chávez government in 2002-03, but resigned after ten months in protest of the lack of grassroots involvement in the planning process. He is the author of many books and articles. We caught up with Denis at the Terrar Park, a popular restaurant frequented by left militants in Caracas.

Chavez Set for Win as Campaign Pushes Socialist Transformation

By Owen Richards - Green Left Weekly , Aug 20th 2012

Chavez in a campaign rally in San Felix, eastern Venezuela, on Saturday 18 August (Comando Carabobo)

“It would be easier for 100 camels to pass through the eye of a needle than for [the capitalist class] to win the election”, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaking at the Caracas Municipal Theatre on August 15.

The Revolution Will Not Be Decreed: An interview with Gonzalo Gómez

By Gonzalo Gomez, Jeffery Webber and Susan Spronk, Aug 19th 2012

Gonzalo Gómez and Jeffery R. Webber (socialistproject)

In this interview, Gonzalo describes his own path to militancy, the different phases of the Bolivarian process, and the dangers of bureaucracy, the “boli-bourgeoisie,” and the stultifying internal life of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV).

US Carter Center: Venezuelan Electoral System one of the Most Automated in the World

By Panorama / Patria Grande, Aug 17th 2012

National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena demonstrating Venezuela’s new Integrated Authentication voting system. (no

The Venezuelan electoral system is the most automated in the world, because it can be audited and verified at every stage, said Jennifer McCoy, director of the Carter Center’s Americas Program.

Study of Polls Shows a Clear Lead for Hugo Chavez in Venezuela's Presidential Election Race

By Venezuela Solidarity Campaign UK, Aug 13th 2012

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at a campaign rally in San Cristobel in the western state of Tachira last weekend (chavez.org)

This study by the VSC UK offers an overview of the results of polls by a broad range of polling companies in Venezuela so far in the country's presidential election campaign.

Fighting for Land and Territory in Urban Caracas: An Interview with Héctor Madera

By Jeffery R. Webber and Susan Spronk - Socialist Project, Aug 12th 2012

Barrios in Caracas (Agencies)

Jeffery R. Webber and Susan Spronk (JW and SS) interviewed Héctor Madera in Caracas Venezuela. Madera is one of the founders of the Comités de Tierras Urbanas (Committees of Urban Land, CUTs) and member of Movimiento de Pobladores (Poor Peoples’ Movement, MP).

Venezuela with Two Months to Go till the Presidential Elections

By Alfredo G Pierrat - Prensa Latina, Aug 9th 2012

Conservative candidate Henrique Capriles (left) and socialist candidate Hugo Chavez (right) (archive).

With two months to go till the presidential elections on 7 October, the president, Hugo Chavez, continues to have a wide lead in the polls, while the opposition assures that its candidate has majority support.

On the Ferrominera Elections: Defeat of Bureaucratic and Pro-Boss Trade Unionism

By Roberto Lopez Sanchez - Marea Socialista, Aug 7th 2012

Ruben Gonzalez upon winning the union elections in Ferrominera del Orinoco (El Universal)

The defeat of the official United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) candidate in recent trade union elections in state company Ferrominera has generated great media interest in Venezuela in light of the upcoming presidential elections. Roberto Lopez Sanchez of Socialist Tide, a radical current within the PSUV, gives his view as to the current situation in the Venezuelan labour movement.

Latin American Unity Takes Center Stage as U.S. Influence Declines

By Steve Ellner - NACLA, Jul 20th 2012

The Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC), founded December 2011, which includes every nation in the Western h

In spite of surprises in the lead-up to the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, on April 14–15, the results of the conference were predictable. The United States and Canada found themselves distanced from their neighbors to the south. The newly created regional organizations that exclude the United States were at least partially responsible for this shift.

New Report Underscores Thriving Freedoms in Venezuela

By Correo del Orinoco International, Jul 16th 2012

A photo of the now infamous Venezuelan "Caracazo" protest in 1989, when police repression left around 2000 Venezuelans

Last week, a brief and rather scantily detailed report was released from the Venezuelan Social Conflict Observatory (OVCS) documenting the number of protests that have occurred in the South American nation in the first semester of this year.

Media & Opposition: False Perceptions of Venezuela’s Democracy

By Rachael Boothroyd - Correo del Orinoco International , May 25th 2012

Venezuela’s Barrio Adentro health program provides free healthcare to Venezuela’s poor, and free, community based training f

Earlier this week Al Jazeera English published an article by Nikolas Kozloff. The focus of Kozloff’s latest article was the Cuban-Venezuelan “Barrio Adentro” initiative, a social mission which provides free healthcare to Venezuela’s poor, and free, community based training for Venezuelan medical students.

Chavez in 2012

By Stetephen Lendman - Correo del Orinoco International , May 4th 2012

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (Chavez.org).

After 12 years in office, Chavez remains overwhelmingly favored for reelection in October. Given the alternative, most Venezuelans have a clear choice.