The Venezuelanalysis Podcast Episode 05: Campesinos, Class Struggle and the Land

When Hugo Chávez was elected in 1998, one of his priorities was to address two centuries of poverty and inequality in the Venezuelan countryside. A landmark Land Law published in 2001 allowed campesinos and the state to rescue over six million hectares of unproductive land.

But these efforts also provoked a violent reaction from landowners and the rural bourgeoisie, with over 300 campesinos killed in the past 20 years.

In the latest episode of The Venezuelanalysis Podcast, we go over these historical struggles and the present reality in rural Venezuela. Host José Luis Granados Ceja talks to Andrés Alayo, one of the key spokespeople of the Campesino Struggle Platform, about current contradictions in the countryside and the fight against an agribusiness model amidst a severe economic crisis.

In a different segment, Granados and VA editor Ricardo Vaz talk about the role the campesino struggle has played in the Bolivarian Revolution, especially in recent years amidst economic hardship and brutal US sanctions.

Song credits:

Embandolaos – Los Caimanes Negros

Javier Marin – Llanto

Cristóbal Jiménez – El último hombre a caballo