“Why Venezuela? How The US Tries To Undermine Democracy And Sovereignty In Latin America”
During Donald Trump’s first term as US President 2016-2020 he applied a “maximum pressure” policy against Venezuela which included a “blockade [on] Venezuela’s oil industry, its vessels, its gold trade, its national airline” (p26).
Some of the other attacks against Venezuela while he was in office included: Fascist US-backed street protests
Attempts on President Nicolas Maduro’s life
The self-proclamation of US-trained puppet Juan Guiado as President of Venezuela
The theft of billions of dollars from Venezuela’s foreign accounts
Attempted coups and invasions
Attacks on the country’s electrical grid
A $15 million bounty being placed on Maduro’s head
The extreme measures taken by the Trump administration, many of which remained from the Biden administration, wreaked havoc on the Venezuelan economy. They had devastating impacts on the Venezuelan people. Reports estimate 100,000 Venezuelans have been killed as a result of US sanctions.
US hostility continues despite failure
Nevertheless, the policy of maximum pressure failed to achieve its goal of regime change through military force or starvation: the coups didn’t work, the military invasions were squashed, Maduro remains alive, and the Bolivarian Revolution continues to advance.
That has not deterred the US.
US military bases are being built in the Guyanese-occupied Essequibo region to Venezuela’s east and the US navy maintains a presence some 40 miles from Venezuela’s shores to the north. However, external and internal pressures continually force the US to review and change its tactics. The new Trump administration initially signalled a change in tact from its previous policy. Though it publicly recognized opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the president-elect, it de facto accepted the Presidency of democratically elected Maduro.
Within his first two weeks in office, Trump sent an envoy to Venezuela to meet Maduro for migration-based talks. Envoy representative Richard Grenell told Epoch Times on February 22 that “Donald Trump is somebody that doesn’t want to do regime change” in Venezuela. Extremist Florida-based reactionaries, an important voting base for Trump, were enraged. Less than a week later, on February 26, Trump announced new economic sanctions on Venezuela in the form of revoking oil licenses. Further attacks against Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua are expected.
One may be left wondering “Why Venezuela?”: Why for the past two decades has the United States waged a regime change campaign against Venezuela?
Why does the US, with its European partners, seek to destroy Venezuela?
Why does western media bombard us with material demonizing Venezuela?
Why Venezuela?
“Why Venezuela? How the US tries to undermine democracy and sovereignty in Latin America,” is a unique new pamphlet edited by People’s Dispatch editor Zoe Alexandra, that addresses this question through a series of articles from community organizers, journalists and scholars.
Introducing “Why Venezuela?”
Published for an English-speaking audience, the collection is an invaluable resource for an introduction to revolutionary Venezuela.
It covers the ideological foundations and development of the Bolivarian Revolution and the historic roots of the internal and external opposition. A glossary of terms explains key ideas and concepts referenced throughout. While learning about the ongoing historic process, readers can also get a sense of the difficulties and contradictions involved in a country with a legacy of chronic dependency and debt trying to develop its productive forces and reorganize the social relations of production in a world still dominated by monopoly capitalism – all while being under constant attack.
Key themes and contributions
Blanka Eekout’s contribution on “the Bolivarian Revolution: past, present and future” (pp 1-9) and Hernan Vargas’ article on “Chavismo as a grassroots movement: popular power as the engine of the Bolivarian Revolution” (pp 10-15) explores the centrality of participatory democracy in the Bolivarian Revolution. They trace the organic development of the communes under Chavez and Maduro. Eekout looks at the commune’s initial form as community organizing committees (p5). Vargas then follows their evolution into the current form in which the communes function as “the fundamental cell of socialism” (p11) and the role of community councils in empowering “the organized people [so they can] directly exercise the management of public policies and community development projects” through directly elected spokespersons “that serve the collective mandate” of their community (p13).
In her essay “Homeland is America: Venezuela and its commitment to the Bolivarian dream of continental unity and integration” (pp 16-21), Laura Capote discusses Bolivar’s articulation of and the Bolivarian Revolution’s commitment to “the need to achieve both political and economic sovereignty of our countries, respect for the rights of all those who inhabited our continent and the recognition of the diversity of our region as a potential unifying and revolutionary force” (p16).
What this has looked like in practice is trade and solidarity initiatives. Most notable has been the ALBA coalition founded by Venezuela and Cuba in 2004 as a strategy of forging regional partnerships “centred around sovereignty, integration and social justice” as an alternative to North American domination.
This system of participatory democracy and the endeavors of internationalist solidarity are the two cornerstones of the Bolivarian Revolution that, on the one hand explain the commitment of the majority of Venezuelans to the Revolution, and on the other threaten the Venezuelan bourgeoisie and the US (along with its allies), who employ everything in their arsenal trying to destroy Venezuela. Readers can expect a thorough analysis of the roots of the Venezuelan bourgeoisie and their commitment to overthrowing the Bolivarian Revolution in Diego Sequera’s contribution “The politics of anti-politics: origins of Venezuelan opposition” (pp 37-58).
The media war against Venezuela
It is not currently clear how Trump will extend the attack on Venezuela.
It is certain that global mainstream media propaganda outlets will be there every step of the way “softening up the public for regime change” (p31). As Alan MacLeod explores in his essay, “Before they send in the troops, they send in the journalists” (pp 29-36).
For a comprehensive historical review and political analysis of US foreign policy towards Venezuela, readers can turn to the article “United States vs Bolivarian Revolution” by Carlos Ron (pp 22-28).
The key takeaway: An obligation of solidarity
Readers of the pamphlet should finish with an understanding of why the example that Venezuela provides to the world threatens the US and its allies. Readers will hopefully also take away a sense of obligation: those of us overseas must continue to resist the war being waged on Venezuela, with material and ideological support for the Revolution that is committed to “continue[ing] its path towards socialism and a prosperous future” (p28).
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