Gabriel Hetland is an associate professor of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx studies at SUNY Albany and author of Democracy on the Ground: Local Politics in Latin America’s Left Turn (2023).
From 2005 to 2016, against the wishes of both the country’s ruling and opposition parties, the small Venezuelan municipality of Torres underwent a radical experiment in democracy, giving residents direct power over the budget. It worked.
Details surrounding a recent coup in Bolivia are still murky. But one thing is certain: the botched military takeover is the symptom of a political crisis fueled by a split within the Bolivian left.
Socialists must stand resolutely against US imperialism. We also can't turn a blind eye to purportedly leftist states' suppression of political liberties that socialists around the world have fought and died for.
The Bolivian military forced President Evo Morales to step down — the classic definition of a coup. Now, the country is caught in a spiral of horrors as the far-right regime of terror consolidates its rule.
US policy towards Venezuela is not motivated by a concern for democracy or human rights. And its arrogant intervention is making the country's humanitarian crisis even worse.
Venezuela is in crisis, and Trump’s saber-rattling is making things worse. Our response should be guided by three principles: non-interventionism, self-determination, and solidarity with the oppressed.
It's really very simple: the US has absolutely no right to meddle in the affairs of Venezuela, in any way, shape, or form.
Whatever the outcome of today's Venezuelan election, the US has neither the right nor the moral standing to intervene.
Human rights are worth defending. Human Rights Watch is not.
Opposition violence and the government’s increasing authoritarianism are both to blame.
What mainstream accounts of Venezuela’s “peaceful” opposition leave out.
Bernie Sanders is wrong — Hugo Chávez was no dictator.