The ruling class must establish its hegemony in order to assure its survival, and cultural production is critical to this process, dominance over our cultural lives is indispensable for capitalism to reproduce itself.

As Gramsci wrote: “To achieve a revolutionary perspective, the worker must first be freed of the ideological fetters imposed on him by the cultural organizations of the ruling class.”

On today’s episode we’re talking about culture as a site of political struggle. To address this topic we will speak with Luigino Bracci Roa, a communications activist, expert in digital communications and a rank-and-file worker in Venezuela’s Ministry of Culture. Host José Luis Granados Ceja is also joined by VA’s Andreína Chávez to talk about music as a space for constructive criticism within the Bolivarian process and the role of cultural expressions such as the gaita Zuliana as a reflection of the central place that voices of the people should occupy. 

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Betulio Medina - La Grey Zuliana

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez sought to build a participatory democracy that would directly include the population in decision making and knew that a robust education system, one that would seek to incorporate those historically excluded from the formal educational system, was indispensable.

From primary school all the way into higher education, Venezuela massively expanded educational opportunities for the population since the onset of the Bolivarian Process. Unfortunately today, under a brutal economic blockade, many of those gains have been rolled back. Venezuela’s public education system suffers from underfunding, with high rates of academic desertion, and low wages for teachers. But better outcomes in education are still possible if there’s the political will to fight for them.

To address this topic, host José Luis Granados Ceja speaks with Dr. Luis Bonilla Molina, former vice-minister for education and current co-director of the Latin American Council for Social Sciences’ International Research Center Other Voices on Education. José Luis also talks to Venezuela Analysis’ Cira Pasqual Marquina about the role of movements and organizers to promote educational inclusion and participation, her own experience as an instructor at the Pluriversidad Patria Grande in Caracas and her efforts at political education through the Escuela de Cuadros program. 

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Que Vivan los Estudiantes - Los Guaraguao

By retaking control of the region’s natural resources, pink-tide governments throughout Latin America were able to make great strides in the redistribution of wealth, working to attend to the social debt owed to the population. But this came at a cost. Today there is a clear global consensus that climate change is real and we risk making the planet uninhabitable if we do not take urgent action immediately.

How can progressive and leftist governments in Latin America work to secure climate justice? Should we consider de-growth as the strategy, as some progressive thinkers advocate? What of anti-extractivism, which has become a common position among many on the left throughout the world? Or does the solution lies in the communalization of life?

To help us answer these questions, host José Luis Granados Ceja speaks with Liliana Buitrago, environmental activist and Researcher from the Venezuelan Political Ecology Observatory. This episode also features a conversation with Venezuela Analysis’ Cira Pasqual Marquina on the efforts by environmentalists and communards in Venezuela to tackle the issue of climate change in their communities.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Efren Clavo - La Tierra Está Sufriendo

With another year nearly behind us, Venezuelanalysis hosts a special podcast episode where we once again take stock of the Venezuelan political landscape and look at the most important topics from Venezuela. This time around, the VA staff sat down to discuss sanctions relief, the Essequibo dispute, upcoming elections and a lot more.

What is behind the decision by the US Treasury Department to suspend sanctions on Venezuela? Is it because of increased Venezuelan migration to the US? Is it owed to fears of wider instability in the Middle East? Or has the White House finally come to terms with the failure of the current regime-change strategy?

You won’t be surprised to learn that the answer is yes, to all of that, and more. In our latest podcast episode, host José Luis Granados Ceja is joined by fellow VA member Ricardo Vaz and political analyst Ociel López to break down Washington's calculations, the potential impact of the licenses, and where the Venezuelan political chessboard factors in.

Music: 

• Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros
• Gino Gonzalez - A Palestina

On today’s episode, we present to you two new books on Venezuela. The first is “A War Without Bombs: The social, political and economic impact of sanctions against Venezuela” written and published by the Venezuelanalysis team.

The book is now available to everyone to download for free on our brand new website. A War Without Bombs aims to provide Venezuelanalysis readers, internationalists, activists, and people committed to social justice with the tools to understand the devastating impact of the blockade on the people of Venezuela.

Host José Luis Granados Ceja speaks with Venezuela Analysis’ Cira Pascual Marquina about the thinking behind a book on sanctions, its content, and the stories within that detail what working people in Venezuela are doing to build a socialist alternative in a country under siege.

We’ll also look at Commune or Nothing! Venezuela’s Communal Movement and its Socialist Project by Chris Gilbert, professor of political studies at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela. Chris talks to us about the place of communes in Venezuela’s socialist project, as well as their place as a site of struggle and resistance against the US economic blockade.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Iskra - El Imperio mismo

On today’s program we’re looking into the bipartisan imperialist consensus in Washington when it comes to Venezuela.

Following a recent US Congressional delegation to Brazil, Chile, and Colombia by Representatives Greg Casar, Nydia Velázquez, Joaquin Castro, Maxwell Frost, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, media outlets were once again filled with headlines about the need for the US to change its relationship with Latin America. Despite the potential for this trip to “replace” or “realign” the US-Latin America relationship, public comments by lawmakers following their trip, Democrats are still deeply wedded to the US imperialist project. 

To talk about the very real consequences of tepid and insufficient calls by so-called progressives to merely “review” US sanctions on Venezuela, Host José Luis Granados Ceja speaks with Hector Figarella, a Venezuela-born activist and organizer with the Anti-Imperialist Action Committee. Venezuela Analysis’ Andreína Chávez also joins the program to talk about her recent piece titled ‘Clear As The Full Moon’ about the harsh circumstances Venezuela has been forced to endure at the hands of imperialism.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Ali Primera - Canción para los valientes

At the end of June, dozens of popular power collectives gathered at the El Panal Commune in western Caracas to participate in the “Reflections on Communal Democracy” summit. It was a space to reflect and debate on the progress and challenges for the construction of socialism in Venezuela. 

In this podcast episode, host José Luis Granados Ceja is joined by Dahís Suárez and Iván Tamariz, from the Panal 2021 Commune which hosted the event. He also talks with fellow VA member Cira Pascual Marquina on the debates that took place and the bigger picture of grassroots struggles in Venezuela.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Leonardo Oropeza - Comuna o Nada

Trump’s recent candor about his push for regime change in Venezuela to secure access to oil proved that US support for the so-called interim government was never about democracy or human rights. It was always about imperialism and the neocolonial drive for the control of Venezuela’s resources. While the prospects of the US-backed opposition taking political power by force fizzled out swiftly, another plan has remained firmly in motion: the plunder of Venezuelan foreign assets.

VA’s Ricardo Vaz joins host José Luis Granados Ceja to talk about US efforts to keep the so-called interim government alive and its role as an instrument to facilitate the plunder of Venezuela’s assets and resources. 

We then talk with investigative journalist John McEvoy to look at the status of Venezuela’s gold in the UK and the political efforts by the UK’s political establishment to deny the government access to it.

Music: 

Armando Martinez - Mi Patria Soberana

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Following a day-long discussion about U.S. interventionism and efforts to resist imperialism at the Latin America and the Caribbean Policy Forum, host José Luis Granados Ceja is joined by Nick Estes from The Red Nation, Claudia De La Cruz from The People’s Forum, Teri Mattson of the WTF is Going on in Latin America and the Caribbean podcast, Hector Figarella from the Anti-Imperialist Action Committee, and Celina della Croce from the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, as well as Venezuelanalysis’ Greg Wilpert, to have a rich discussion about the fight to bury the Monroe Doctrine, ending sanctions on Venezuela, and drawing inspiration from the Bolivarian Revolution.

Last month, the National Anti-Corruption Police revealed alleged “serious acts of corruption" in state-owned oil company PDVSA. 

Fallout was swift, over 50 individuals have now been arraigned. The charges include misappropriation of public funds, influence peddling and money laundering. Some may even face treason charges. 

Calling the anti-corruption drive an “ethical, spiritual, and moral battle”, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said that those engaged in unscrupulous behavior were betraying the values of the Bolivarian Revolution.

In response to the US economic war, the Venezuelan government also implemented an anti-blockade law, it has helped the country survive but has ripple effects, namely a lack of transparency. It is in these obscured spaces where corruption can flourish. 

But corruption is not the only consequence of the economic war against Venezuela. The country is also battling inflation, which is severely impacting the working class in the country. 

When it comes to corruption and inflation, these two are also sites of class struggle. To explain, we will speak with Venezuelan economist and National Assembly member Tony Boza.

Music: 

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Hay que aligerar la carga - Alí Primera

“El Golpe de Timón” - was Hugo Chávez’s address to his cabinet of ministers on October 20th, 2012, shortly after his resounding reelection on October 7, 2012.

The speech, translated into English as “Strike at the Helm”, is considered his political testament, broadcast live over-the-air, it was his last major political address to his government and the Venezuelan people.

Today, as we commemorate the 10 year anniversary of his death on March 5, 2013, there is no better instrument to understand and appreciate the legacy of Chávez than this speech.

On today’s program we’re looking at the legacy of Hugo Chávez, 10 years removed from his death. To understand his impact on Venezuela, we have to go back in time, to Venezuela before Chávez. What were the conditions in the country that opened the door for a figure like Chávez? What was it about him that allowed him to tap into that discontent? What was it about his connection with the people that made him such a powerful leader?

To answer these questions and more, we will speak with Venezuelan activist, sociologist, and former government minister Reinaldo Iturriza López.

Host José Luis Granados Ceja also speaks with Venezueanalysis’ Cira Pascual Marquina about Chávez’s own political development from advocate for “third way” politics to one of the fiercest critics of capitalism, as well as his contributions to the development of socialist thought. 

Music:

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

El Combo Mas Na - Se Multiplicó 

Sanctions, also known as unilateral coercive measures, should primarily be understood as a tool of neocolonialism. Unilateral Coercive Measures are aimed at inflicting collective punishment on a sovereign state. In the case of Venezuela, they are driven by an effort to secure access to the country’s vast oil wealth, to once again bring Venezuela under the heel of US dominance in the region. Washington wants to also punish the Bolivarian Revolution for not bowing to its hegemony. 

On today’s program we’re looking at the efforts to resist the US neocolonial practice of sanctions. What is the Maduro government doing in the face of this challenge? Can we say there’s an economic recovery in Venezuela despite the imposition of unilateral coercive measures? And how are solidarity activists inside the belly of the beast organizing to end US sanctions?

To talk about the impact of unilateral coercive measures on Venezuela and efforts by activists in the US to resist sanctions policy, we will speak with Michelle Ellner, a Latin America campaign coordinator at CODEPINK. We also chat with Venezuela Analysis’ Ricardo Vaz about the state of Venezuela's economy today and what the Venezuelan government can do to address inequality in the country.

Music:

Embandolaos - Los Caimanes Negros

Efren Clavo - La Caída del Imperio

With the year drawing to a close, the Venezuelanalysis staff recorded a special podcast episode. In this episode we take stock of the Venezuelan political landscape. Host José Luis Granados Ceja is joined by Cira Pascual Marquina, Andreína Chávez and Ricardo Vaz, each chose their "top story" for the year, analyzing different aspects of the Bolivarian Process, from popular power to anti-imperialist resistance. There was also time for a quick look ahead into the coming year and what could be in store for the South American nation, including the ongoing struggle for US sanctions relief and the return of stolen assets.

We focus on a complex issue: Venezuelan migration. We look at the causes behind the exodus of millions of Venezuelans and the dishonest, politicized propaganda surrounding the issue.

While coverage of Venezuela in the mainstream media is notoriously poor, when it comes to migration it has been flat out dishonest. Deliberately distorting the issue, the corporate media propaganda effort not only serves to hide the devastating impact US policy has on people’s lives, but also helps advance imperialism’s strategic goals. 

By laying the blame on the economic crisis driving migration solely at the feet of the government, the media feeds this narrative that the Maduro government is unable to even adequately attend to the needs of the population. That narrative helps craft the notion that foreign intervention in the country’s affairs is urgent and necessary.

To talk about those who are attempting to profit from the challenge of Venezuelan migration, the role of US regime change efforts, and what can be done to truly attend to the needs of migrants, we speak with Daymar Martes, an anthropologist and researcher with Venezuelan human rights organization SURES.

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and President Gustavo Petro of Colombia announced that the border between the two countries, after being closed for years, will officially reopen on September 26.

The decision to reopen the border represents yet another step in the restoration of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Colombia following the arrival of Petro to the presidency, as the two neighbors work to turn back the clock on years of strained relations under previous administrations.

This latest move is not only symbolic but also represents a significant opportunity for economic development that wasn’t possible before. The issue is whether this economic activity (Caracas estimates border trade will reach US $2 billion in the near future) will translate into improvements in the well-being of people on both sides of the border.

To speak about the new horizon for the Venezuela-Colombia relationship, we speak with Enrique Acosta, a researcher with the Center for Research and Border Studies. 

One of the clearest expressions of the struggle of the Venezuelan working class against the bourgeoisie today is the efforts by workers to seize control of the means of production directly, taking the factory out of the hands of the bosses and running their workplaces democratically.

In the tenth episode of the Venezuelanalysis Podcast, the subject is workers' control! 

Podcast host José Luís Granados Ceja talks to Venezuelan worker Sergio Requena about the need to break with capitalist logic and seize the means of production, as well as fellow VA member Cira Pascual Marquina about the history of the worker controlled movement and its present day challenges.

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, born July 28 1954, is undoubtedly the most important figure in modern Venezuelan history. Former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica, upon hearing news of Chávez’s death on March 5th, 2013, said: "I met Che, I met Mao, but I can say this man is a character who broke the mold."

In the ninth Venezuelanalysis Podcast episode, we go go over Chávez's revolutionary legacy. More than a president, he was a teacher, a political scientist, a soldier, a visionary, a powerful orator, and a man profoundly committed to the well being of the Venezuelan people.

Podcast host José Luís Granados Ceja talks to fellow VA member Andreína Chávez and to political science professor Chris Gilbert about the Bolivarian Process, the transition towards socialism and lots more.

In this episode, the team at Venezuelanalysis answers questions submitted by readers and followers. From questions about Venezuela’s relations with its neighbors to the future of the struggle against US imperialism, it’s everything you always wanted to know about Venezuela.

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.