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 …

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,…

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…

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…

LeRoy, T, and friend of the show Rev are back together to discuss one thing: the growing global solidarity movement for Palestine. Rev and LeRoy discuss what they've been a part of and what they've been seeing down in Australia while T brings a US perspective. We discuss the various players and dynamics involved day in and day out in this swelling …

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 Ve…

After an extended hiatus, LeRoy and T are joined by friend of the show Rev to discuss and breakdown the recent failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum and the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Both topics are inextricably linked through the history of settler-colonial violence. We navigate the background and fallout of the failed referendum an…

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 head…

In our latest episode, we are excited to bring to all the Macheteymatistas out there an interview with close friend and comrade Luisa Martinez. Luisa is an organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America that is running for national leadership within the organization at their upcoming national convention. We start our conversation off with Luis…

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 joi…

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 …

After an unplanned hiatus, the MyM boys are back with a current events episode. We start by breaking down the latest with disgraced Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso and his move to nuke the legislature, call new elections, and rule by decree in the meantime. We work our way towards discussing the latest disappointing news from Chile, more of Bo…

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…

Sometimes we have nothing, sometimes we double up. In a second drop this week, Austin and LeRoy put a bow on the lead up to the Paraguayan election with a discussion of what's at stake and the ramifications of this unprecedented tight race. The final two stories are loosely a debrief of our conversation with Julian Garrido about Argentina and Ecuad…

In our latest episode, we are excited to bring to all the Macheteymatistas out there a fascinating discussion on South American politics with Quito-based political strategist Julián Garrido. We start off in Ecuador which has undergone serious political turmoil in the last couple months as embattled incumbent President Guillermo Lasso's impeachment …

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…

We're back this week with another Current Events episode and the whole team is together! This week we preview the impending and consequential elections in Paraguay and Guatemala. LeRoy leads the convo surrounding Paraguay, going through the candidates, the political history, current society and what's at stake for the landlocked country. Austin lea…

A new current events episode and the whole gang is together! We start off by going through the trouble facing Ecuador President Guillermo and former Prez Lenin Moreno: bribery, potential impeachment, and narco connections to the Albanian mafia. We move on to breakdown AMLO's proposed reforms of Mexico's Elections Commission its prompting of the rat…

“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 …

In our latest episode, we are excited to bring to all the Macheteymatistas out there an in-depth discussion on Venezuela with Venezuela Analysis' own José Luis Granados Ceja. Venezuela Analysis has long been the leader in English-language coverage of Venezuela and José Luis has been a big part of that, from writing a lot of their most recent intern…

In our latest emergency interview, Austin and T attempt to conduct a full interview without our traditional podcast host Leroy as we sit down with Chilean economist and returning podcast Chile expert Diego Polanco to talk about the recent spread of forest fires that have engulfed South-Central Chile. Coming straight to us from Chile, Diego breaks d…

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 un…

In this edition of MyM, (a very sick) Austin and LeRoy sit down with Puerto Rico based journalist and Latino Rebels Caribbean Correspondent Carlos Berrios Polanco to discuss his on the ground perspective of activism in Puerto Rico. We begin with this week's shooting of an activist by private security guards in Aguadilla and the context of the confr…

In this episode, we (not T unfortunately) begin by previewing a few things we're looking forward to seeing unfold this year, a year already proving to be quite eventful. Austin highlights next month's elections in Ecuador and LeRoy similarly talks about the April general elections in Paraguay and the internal rumblings in the ubiquitous Colorado Pa…

In light of the Jan 8 events in Brasilia and the ongoing fall out we sit down with Brazil based journalist Brian Mier of BrasilWire and TelesurEnglish to break it all down and make sense of it all. We discuss Lula's electoral victory, societal conditions that lead to the coup attempt, the coup attempt itself, and what a Lula presidency represents n…

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 Bolivari…

In light of the evolving situation in Peru, we sit down with Peruvian comrade Francesca Emanuele to discuss the fall of Pedro Castillo. With incredible nuance, she breaks down the actions of the recalcitrant Right Wing congress, Castillo's ineffectiveness and incompetence, how Peru got here, and what's next for her embattled homeland. If you suppor…

BUENAS MI GENTE! The full team is back with another current events episode. We begin by discussing the mandated prison release of Jorge Glas, the former VP of Ecuador who got swept up in the immensely consequential Odebrecht corruption scandal. We then move on to break down the recent RW fuckery in Bolivia, lead by Fascist Golpista Luis Fernando Ca…

BUENAS MI GENTE! We're back this week with a long awaited current events episode. We discuss and breakdown the ramifications of Lula's victory in Brazil, what it means not only for Brazil but for the region and the planet as a whole. We then move into and finish off with Gustavo Petro and a recap of his first 100 days, including but not limited to …

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, …

On the eve of the momentous election in Brazil, we sit down with one of our favorite people, veteran of the show, and beloved Brazilian comrade, Fern. Fern takes us through what the Bozonaro presidency has meant for Brazil and what a second term would bring. He goes through and breaks down the candidate roster from Front-Runner Lula and his PT lead…

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…

We're back with a Current Events episode this week! We start off with a bit of debrief of the unfortunate rejection of the Chilean draft constitution. We then talk about the latest wave of protests in Haiti in the age of Ariel Henry. We finish off trying to break down and make sense of the assassination attempt of Argentinean VP Cristina Fernandez …

This week T and LeRoy, ahead of Sunday's referendum, discuss the resulting draft from Chile's long and arduous constitutional convention. We talk about the events that lead to this seemingly miraculous moment, from the 1973 coup to the early history of the 1980 Pinochet Constitution to the nationwide uprisings in the last couple of years. We finish…

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…

THE WHOLE BAND IS TOGETHER FOR THIS LATEST CURRENT EVENTS! We kick things off by discussing the tragedy in Cuba, the most significant industrial natural disaster in its history. We pivot to President-elect Petro of Colombia's inauguration, early moves, and what early predictions for Colombia and the region with a Petro/Marquez presidency. We finish…

After a loooong unplanned (but almost expected) hiatus two of the three sit down together. Just LeRoy and T on this one, we decided to employ our more free form, After Dark format as we get back into the swing of things. We talk about abortion rights and the state of reaction in the US, what it's like dealing with management in excessively hierarch…

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 …

Buenas mi gente! This week we dive head first into the long awaited regionally consequential election in Colombia that has Miami seething! We do a mini deep dive into the violent 20th century history of Colombia that created the material conditions allowing for the historic victory for the Left in the country. We give our takeaways tackle the ramif…

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.By José Luis Granados Ceja

Back again, the whole team is together and joined by Australian comrade Rev. For the first half of this episode we talk with Rev about the massive election that just occurred in LeRoy's neck of the woods down under in so-called Australia. We break down the humiliation of the Australian Liberal Party as they lost their majority and what this electio…

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 h…

In this episode, we touch on electoral politics and the impacts of the Ukraine/Russian war in the region. We speak with Pamela Arancibia Toronto labour activist and researcher and Michelle Munjanattu an International Solidarity organizer living in New York City.By José Luis Granados Ceja

A semi quick turnaround for y'all for this jam packed current events! We start of in Mexico where AMLO dominated a recall vote as he pushes to nationalize Mexico's lithium. We then go to Chile where the Constitutional Convention is in the home stretch in their attempt to rewrite the decrepit Pinochet constitution. We finish off in El Salvador where…

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…

In a rare back to back, the team is back with another current events episode! We start off again in Colombia with a pre-Election state sanctioned massacre in a small Indigenous town under the pretext of rooting out terrorists. We then talk a bit about last week's election in Costa Rica and the country's place in the region generally. And per usual,…

After 47 years the whole team is together for this current events episode. We start off by discussing Petro, Francia Marquez, and the Left coalition Pacto Historico's march towards the impending election and what their victory would mean for the region. We then talk about Pedro Castillo's latest trials and tribulations as a Leftist President with a…

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 …

After a long unplanned break, the whole team is together with special guest, Arepa Libre, to discuss the only thing in the news at the moment: Putin's invasion of Ukraine. In our After Dark format, we analyze what lead to this moment, the global response, and what we think the end game could possibly be. We compare and contrast to reminiscent histo…