South America

As Venezuela prepares to head to the polls in July, the US has already started drumming up suspicion and doubt around the electoral process. Walter Smolarek, Zoe Alexandra Nicolás Maduro received by thousands in the city of Maturín. (Photo: X / Nicolás Maduro) Twenty-five years after Hugo Chávez took office and began the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, US officials have still not tired of dreaming up new plots to overthrow the country’s government. Five years ago, following the last presidential election, they attempted to install Juan Guaidó—a politician most Venezuelans had never even heard of—as the country’s head of state. And now, with the date for the next presidential election officially set for July 28, the Biden administration is gearing up for the bigg...

Solidarity activist Roger Harris breaks down the US' regime-change efforts against Venezuela ahead of the upcoming elections. Roger D. Harris Venezuela will hold presidential elections on July 28. (Archive) For all the hullabaloo about “free and fair elections” in Venezuela by the US government, its sycophantic corporate press deliberately ignores the elephant in the room – namely, the so-called sanctions designed to make life so miserable that the people will acquiesce to Washington’s plan for regime change. As Foreign Policy puts it, “Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro values his political survival above his country’s economic well-being.” Translated from Washington-speak, the US government is blackmailing the Venezuelan electorate with, in the words...

Posted by: John Phoenix The 'paper of record' is sparing no effort to delegitimize the upcoming Venezuela vote and carry water for US-backed politicians. The New York Times is rolling out its dishonest coverage. (FAIR) Venezuelans will head to the polls on July 28 to choose their president for the 2025–30 term. Incumbent President Nicolás Maduro faces nine challengers as he runs for a third term. Over the past 25 years of US-sponsored coups and economic sanctions, Western corporate media have always proven a reliable source of regime-change propaganda to back Washington’s policies (FAIR.org, 12/17/18, 1/25/19, 8/15/19, 4/15/20, 5/11/20, 1/11/23). Coverage builds to a frenzy around elections, whether driven by a (misguided) hope that US surroga...

Roger Harris argues that the purpose of US sanctions against Venezuela is to turn the country and its defiant socialist project into a cautionary tale. Roger D. Harris Washington has threatened to reimpose oil sanctions against Venezuela. (Photo: Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg) US sanctions on Venezuela’s gold sales and its threat to do the same with oil. The oil sanctions especially, if reinstated, would precipitate higher gas prices and further debilitate the Venezuelan economy, forcing more people to leave the country out of economic necessity. The Venezuelan government, for its part, has not been contrite. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez protested “the wrong step of intensifying economic aggression against Venezuela.” She warned that if Washington takes the thre...

A deep dive into the complexities and uncertainties surrounding Venezuela's July 28 presidential elections. Clodovaldo Hernández Nicolás Maduro is often represented by Chavistas as a colorful rooster. (Venezuelanalysis) There are several unknowns around the upcoming Venezuelan presidential elections on July 28, and everything seems to indicate that they will only be resolved on that day, when more than 21 million voters will be able to cast their ballots and decide whether to give President Nicolás Maduro six more years in office or opt for one of nine other presidential candidates in the race. One of the key questions is how much of its electoral strength does Chavismo retain after 25 years in power, 11 of them under Maduro’s leadership. During his presidency, Maduro has ...

In her latest column, VA's Andreína Chávez explores the contrast between grassroots feminism and women's demands versus government-led initiatives. Andreína Chávez Alava The latest edition of "The Subversive Truth" tackles the need to prioritize Venezuelan working-class women in order to propel forward the socialist project. Growing up, I used to love listening to my mom recalling the day I was born because it resembled an absurd 90s comedy, with weird plot twists and everything. Years later, I realized that despite the funny elements, this was actually another story of how working-class women survive and how their demands go forever unheard. If you bear with me for just a little bit as I tell my mom’s story, you’ll find out why women’s rights being reduced to an afterthou...

Despite warnings from disqualified candidate María Corina Machado ("There will be no elections without me!"), Chavismo and dozens of opposition parties are debating an electoral calendar. Clodovaldo Hernández Clodovaldo Hernández breaks down the opposition choices for the upcoming election. (Venezuelanalysis) Following a Supreme Court ruling barring María Corina Machado from running for the 2024 presidential election, the far-right leader defiantly declared, “There will be no elections without me!” This statement appeared to signal a potential call to arms, particularly as US officials supported her stance by warning that a failure to allow Machado’s candidacy could lead to the reinstatement of unilateral coercive measures (commonly known as sanctions) in April. To undersc...