The Venezuela Analysis podcast brings independent, on-the-ground English-language coverage of Venezuela and the Bolivarian Process. You’ll hear news and in-depth analysis about the country, as well as coverage of leftist and grassroots forces.

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The Great Housing Mission is undoubtedly one of the flagships of the Bolivarian Revolution. The program created by Hugo Chávez in 2011 has provided a reported four million houses for low-income families and looks to reach five million by 2025.In the newest episode of the Venezuelanalysis podcast, we go over the struggle to establish housing as a human right in Venezuela, as opposed to a capitalist commodity, and we put the spotlight on grassroots movements that have pushed the so-called “urban revolution.”Host José Luis Granados Ceja, fellow VA writer Andreína Chávez and Juan Carlos Rodríguez from the Pobladores Movement go over the housing mission and its achievements, as well as the emerging challenges and contradictions in Venezuela’s current political context.

The Decommodification of Housing in Venezuela

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The Russia-Ukraine conflict has upended the previously existing geopolitical order. With mid-term elections looming and rising energy costs inside the US as a result of the conflict and the subsequent ban of Russian oil imports, the White House was left scrambling.This global scenario led Washington to abandon its years-long strategy of pretending that Juan Guaidó was president and forced high-level members of Biden’s team to finally sit down with the real President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.In this episode, we’re going to take a look at the fallout of the visit by a high-level White House delegation to Venezuela, spurred on by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as the implications of this political moment for Venezuela and the region.We also feature Venezuelan journalist and professor Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein, who speaks to us about the struggle against imperialism in a context of declining US hegemony, as well as the prospects for regional integration in Latin America in an era that some have called “new cold war”. Music:Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros11 de abril 2002: Golpe de Estado - Lloviznando Cantos

Venezuela, Russia, and the Geopolitical Shift

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The Bolivarian Revolution has always worked to put social inclusion at the very center of its political program, focusing on attending to the needs of the most marginalized. In a capitalist patriarchal system this meant expanding the political participation of women; but this also doubled the social reproduction work of women, who found themselves working, taking care of their families and taking care of the community.Nonetheless, Venezuelan women today continue to organize and fight for equality, struggling to end machista violence and secure recognition of their sexual and reproductive rights.In honor of International Working Women’s Day on March 8th, we’re going to talk about the gains and the challenges facing the feminist movement in Venezuela and will speak with Daniela Inojosa, a long time feminist and founder of Tinta Violeta. Music:Embandolaos - Los Caimanes NegrosLa Chiche Manaure - La Mujer Bolivariana

Building Feminism Everyday in Venezuela

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With its immense oil reserves, there was a time when Venezuela was called the “Saudi Arabia” of Latin America. This reliance on oil rents invariably distorted much of the economy, making it cheaper to import food rather than produce it locally. This decades-long arrangement helps explain Venezuela’s challenges when it comes to securing food sovereignty. With the collapse in the price of oil and the effects of US-led sanctions that have crippled the industry, the scenario has changed, and the oil sector can no longer fuel the rest of the economy.This shift and the pressing need to secure a model that allows for locally produced healthy, and nutritious food for Venezuelans, has made the land question more important than ever. In this episode, we will speak with Andres Alayo. He is one of the key leaders of the Campesino Struggle Platform, which brings together local, autonomous peasant, communal and revolutionary organizations in order to present a unified voice and organize their demands. Music:Embandolaos - Los Caimanes NegrosEl Último Hombre a Caballo - Cristóbal Jiménez

Campesinos, Class Struggle, and the Land

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Today more than ever, it is critical to support anti-imperialist media.  With recent victories by the left in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Honduras, US Imperialism is nervous. The response by the US Department of State to these recent elections in Latin America, discrediting the first two and only reluctantly embracing the latter, is proof that neo-colonial domination over the region remains very much at the center of US foreign policy. On today’s program we’re going to take a look at what goes into producing anti-imperialist media that is capable of striking back against the Empire. In the first segment, we will talk with VA’s own Andreína Chávez, staff writer at Venezuela Analysis and our social media mastermind. We will also speak with Camila Escalante, a Latin America-based journalist who has played a key role in disseminating an anti-imperialist perspective through Kawsachun News.  Music:Los Caimanes Negros - EmbandolaosBillo’s Caracas Boys - Fiesta DecembrinaJavier Marin - Llanto Donate to Venezuela Analysishttps://venezuelanalysis.com/donate

Anti-imperialist Media Strikes Back

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In our first Dispatch you’ll be hearing directly from members of the Venezuela Analysis team who were on the ground covering the election in the capital and surrounding region where the United Socialist Party secured an important victory in Venezuela’s regional and local elections on Sunday, winning at least 19 of the 23 governorships.The 42.3% turnout was twelve points higher than December’s parliamentary elections, bucking a recent downwards trend. Sunday’s vote saw a wider electoral offer than on past occasions, with 111 parties running including the US-backed hard-right which returned to the ballot on the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) ticket. Sunday’s vote was overseen by over 300 international observers from 55 countries and a host of international organizations, including the Carter Center, the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA) and the European Union (EU).Song credit:Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Dispatch: Chavismo Wins 'Mega-elections'

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On November 21, Venezuela will hold its 27th election since Chávez came to power, critically this will be the first time since 2015 that Chavismo will face most of the opposition in an electoral contest after the self-styled Group of Four parties finally abandoned their boycott strategy.The third episode of the Venezuelanalysis podcast looks at the upcoming “mega elections” in Venezuela where over 70,000 candidates will vie for 3,082 positions. Apart from deciding regional authorities such as governors and mayors, the election will determine the fate of political gridlock in Venezuela.Host José Luis Granados Ceja talks to fellow VA member Paul Dobson about the issues in this election and the state of Chávez’s model of a participatory democracy. We also hear from Venezuelan writer and theorist Reinaldo Iturriza, author of the book “El Chavismo Salvaje” and former Minister of the Communes and of Culture. Iturriza talks to VA about the potential for a reawakening of the Bolivarian grassroots and the return of the radical, US-backed wing of the opposition into the democratic process. Music:Embandolaos - Los Caimanes NegrosUh Ah, Chávez No Se Va

Back to the Ballot

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The corporate media coverage of Venezuela has always placed its focus on Chávez and Maduro, what the government did or said. This narrative, and the respective counter-narrative, ignore one key element of the Bolivarian Process: popular power.The second episode of the Venezuelanalysis podcast focuses on grassroots organizations under conditions of duress: a years-long economic crisis and devastating US sanctions.Host José Luis Granados Ceja first talks to fellow VA member Cira Pascual Marquina on how communes, described by Chávez as the “unit cell” for the construction of socialism, have survived, or even thrived, in the current context. We also feature young communard leader Jesús García from the Altos de Lídice Socialist Commune in Caracas. García talks about how a commune works, the contradictions that emerge with the state and how popular organizations are best suited to address people’s problems.Music:Embandolaos - Los Caimanes NegrosGino González - Todos nosotros con Chávez

Popular Power Under Duress

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In this episode we take a look at the impact of US-led sanctions against Venezuela. We’ll speak with UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights. https://venezuelanalysis.com/ Music:Embandolaos - Los Caimanes NegrosJavier Marin - LlantoSandino Primera - Cómo Quisera Olvidarte

Sanctions Kill