Venezuelans Battle a Crumbling Democracy and a Stolen Election

How a revolution ignites

Highly charged protests continue to erupt in Venezuela following President Nicolás Maduro's blatantly forged electoral results at the end of July. The US and 10 Latin American states have rejected Maduro's unsubstantiated vote certification. But rather than face mounting pressure from the opposition to release evidence of the votes behind ...
Read More
Venezuelans Battle a Crumbling Democracy and a Stolen Election

How Sanctions Contributed to Venezuela’s Economic Collapse

Despite claims that they targeted the Maduro regime, sanctions had indiscriminate effects on the country

This essay was originally published by The Global Americans and is reprinted with permission During the past decade, Venezuela lived through the largest economic contraction documented in the history of the Western Hemisphere. The implosion took place at the same time as the U.S. government barred oil purchases, froze government bank ...
Read More
How Sanctions Contributed to Venezuela’s Economic Collapse

The Revolution Will Not Be Feminized

For all its socialist talk, Venezuela hasn’t done much to advance women’s rights

She was just thirteen. Nearly malnourished, she had dropped out of school. Her brain still developing, her self-esteem at its most vulnerable, she was raped, repeatedly, by a neighbor. She didn’t consent, she couldn’t have. She was just thirteen, and now she was pregnant. Her mother refused to let it be. ...
Read More
The Revolution Will Not Be Feminized

The Perfect Dictatorship

The perfect dictatorship is not one in which there are no elections. The perfect dictatorship is one in which the government does not lose elections

_____ It was during the presidency of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, whom many saw as one of the champions of economic reforms (even today, some people remember him that way), that Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa decided to break one of the unwritten rules of Mexican politics.  In a televised discussion ...
Read More
The Perfect Dictatorship

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

They have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated international law

Ambassador Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, spoke at the same meeting. She praised the charter and called upon the member states of the UN to bring its values into the world. However, Ambassador Craft said, “On far too many occasions, we have seen nations that are parties ...
Read More
The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

Confrontation Over the Occupation of the Embassy of Venezuela

On April 10, three US left-wing groups occupied the Embassy of Venezuela in DC

On April 10, three US left-wing groups occupied the Embassy of Venezuela in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. at the invitation of the Maduro government. Calling themselves the Embassy Protection Collective (EPC), CodePink, ANSWER, and Popular Resistance are living at the embassy 24/7 to keep representatives of opposition leader ...
Read More
Confrontation Over the Occupation of the Embassy of Venezuela

To Hell With Maduro and With Trump

Thoughts on Socialism, Venezuela, and Freedom

The Venezuelan system has been in crisis for some time. This crisis, like all crises, is no doubt overdetermined. It has global, regional, and domestic dimensions. And its primary victims are the ordinary people of Venezuela. If you have any doubts, I recommend a look at Amnesty International’s 2018 report, ...
Read More
To Hell With Maduro and With Trump

Venezuela Under Dictatorship

An urgent note regarding recent developments in Venezuela

After several months of political apathy, Venezuela is experiencing a massive popular uprising since April 4th. Over the last three weeks, almost daily, a wave of mass anti-government protests has exploded in major cities of the country, reaching its zenith on April 19. Hundreds of thousands of people have poured ...
Read More
Venezuela Under Dictatorship