Venezuelanalysis

🎙🔊 PODCAST | The latest Venezuelanalysis episode discusses the role of communes in socialist construction and anti-imperialist struggles. Communes foster communal exchange over commodities and address racial and patriarchal oppression. Their impact, however, depends on integration into a broader anti-imperialist strategy in the global fight against imperialism, states guest Chris Gilbert. 👉 Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0RyfxgQgfc&t=2s #Communes#Socialism

🎙️ Episode 39 of the VA Podcast is out now! This episode examines the role of Venezuelan communes in socialist construction and anti-imperialist struggle, with guests Chris Gilbert and Cira Pascual Marquina. Both were guest editors of Monthly Review's latest issue, "Communes in Socialist Construction". The conversation covers the meaning of communes, Marx’s theory of the commune, and the political relevance of the slogan “Commune or Nothing!” 🎧 Watch here: https://youtu.be/u0RyfxgQgfc #Communes#PopularPower#VAPodcast#AntiImperialism#Venezuela

📝 INTERVIEW | Building Communal Power from the Mayor’s Office: A Conversation with Lisbed Carolina Parada With municipal elections scheduled for Sunday, July 27, VA interviewed Lisbed Carolina Parada, mayoral candidate in the town of Urachiche, Yaracuy state. A longtime communal activist, Parada discussed the need to put institutional spaces at the service of popular power in the territories. Follow the link to read the interview: https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/building-communal-power-from-the-mayors-office-a-conversation-with-lisbed-carolina-parada/ #MunicipalElections#PopularPower#Urachiche#Communes

📑🖊 OPINION | Socialist Communes and Anti-Imperialism: The Marxist Approach Chris Gilbert analyzes when a commune or communal project can be considered anti-imperialist, drawing on Marx’s theoretical foundations. One expression of this framework came in 2024. According to Gilbert, it was exemplified when Palestinian revolutionary Leila Khaled visited the El Panal Commune in Caracas. She praised it as a concrete example of sovereignty under U.S. sanctions, drawing parallels with the Palestinian struggle for national liberation. That same year, Venezuela also deepened its communal strategy by launching quarterly consultations and expanding public funding to strengthen commune powers. Read the full opinion piece here: https://shorturl.at/eThgJ #antiimperialism#Communes#HugoChavez

📝 INTERVIEW | Juan Lenzo: ‘We Need to Integrate the Communal Economy to Face the Capitalist Maelstrom’ Juan Lenzo, a Venezuelan activist, takes stock of the Communard Union’s current strengths and challenges, with a particular focus on consolidating the communal economy. Today, 117 communes are part of the Union. To strengthen economic planning, the organization is mapping grassroots productive activity and identifying opportunities to rebuild the communal economy after years of crisis. One of its flagship efforts is the “Patria Grande del Sur” project in Bolívar state: a 187,000-hectare initiative developed with Brazil’s MST and local campesino communities. The goal is to build a communal agroecological system in phases, from infrastructure to production and education. “We’re not trying to strengthen the old state, we’re building a communal one,” he said. 🔗 Read the full interview here: https://shorturl.at/wejdV #CommunardUnion#Communes

📝 INTERVIEW | ‘We’re Building a New Way of Life’: A Conversation with National Assembly Candidate Albanys Montilla Albanys Montilla, a 27-year-old PSUV candidate and lifelong communard, believes the National Assembly must create laws that empower Venezuela’s communes to manage resources directly, without intermediaries. She speaks about growing up under imperialist aggression and how sanctions fractured Venezuelan families, especially hurting women and youth. But Montilla also emphasizes the commune’s role in rebuilding consciousness through collective work and direct democracy. 'The commune is not just a slogan, it’s a reality we’re constructing. The new parliament must pass laws that let communities manage resources themselves.' 🔗 Read the full interview here: https://shorturl.at/VKC47 #Communes#LegislativeRegionalElections2025#NationalAssembly#Sanctions#Youth

📑🖊 OPINION | ‘Neoliberal and Authoritarian’? A Simplistic Analysis of the Maduro Government that Leaves Much Unsaid Steve Ellner dissects Gabriel Hetland’s simplistic critique of Maduro's government, calling it a one-sided take that ignores key facts. Hetland downplays the brutal impact of U.S. sanctions, like the blocking of bond negotiations and the Petro’s swift blacklisting, and misrepresents the government’s relationship with grassroots power. Ellner points to the 'Year of the Communes' and Ángel Prado’s appointment as proof of ongoing support for popular democracy. 🔗 Read the full opinion piece here: https://venezuelanalysis.com/opinion/neoliberal-and-authoritarian-a-simplistic-analysis-of-the-maduro-government-that-leaves-much-unsaid #Communes#NicolasMaduro#Sanctions

🎥 MULTIMEDIA | Renewed ‘Maximum Pressure Campaign’ on Venezuela: Challenges and Resistance 📢 The Venezuela Solidarity Network (VSN) held a webinar addressing the U.S. government’s renewed “maximum pressure” campaign against Venezuela. Researcher Yosmer Arellán and Venezuelanalysis member Cira Pascual Marquina spoke on the impact of intensified sanctions and the grassroots resistance underway. 🔗 Don’t miss the full webinar here: https://shorturl.at/Suhd6 #communes#sanctions#USVenezuelaRelations

📸 IN IMAGES | ‘Concrete Results That Benefit Communities’: Venezuelans Pick State-Funded Projects Organized Venezuelan communities participated in the second National Popular Consultation of 2025, selecting projects for funding. With over 5,300 voting circuits, voters prioritized infrastructure and service initiatives, such as walkway repairs and improvements to the water supply. Each winning project will receive the equivalent of $10,000, with communal organizations responsible for executing the projects and rendering accounts. 🔗 Don’t miss the full gallery here 👉🏼https://shorturl.at/51gtt #Communes#NationalPopularConsultation

📝OPINION | VA writer Andreína Chávez examines Venezuela's communes and grassroots democracy just in time for Sunday’s "National Popular Consultation." “If you speak to a Venezuelan engaged in grassroots organizing, you’ll find that to them democracy is about much more than counting ballots or electing politicians, and they reject foreign meddling as a matter of principle. True democracy demands a deep commitment to democratizing a country’s political and economic system, ensuring that people have control over the structures and resources that shape their lives.” 🔗Read the full opinion piece here:https://shorturl.at/MPLV3 #demcoracy#grassrootsdemocracy#communes#elections#popularvote#fyp#TheSubversiveTruth

📝 INTERVIEW | Building Communal Hegemony: A Conversation with Robert Longa El Panal Commune’s main spokesperson talks about how communes might enter the Venezuelan constitution through an upcoming reform. 🔗 Read more in the latest VA interview here: https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/building-communal-hegemony-a-conversation-with-robert-longa/ #Communes#HugoChavez #USImperialism

📸 IN IMAGES | Venezuela: 1,600 Women Discuss ‘Communal Feminism’ at First National Gathering On March 29, more than 1,600 women took part in the Communard Union’s first national gathering on communal feminism in Caracas. The meeting set four key priorities: developing a feminist economy, strengthening healthcare, eliminating gender-based violence, and expanding political participation. A commission was appointed to oversee these initiatives, with annual follow-up meetings planned. 🔗 Don’t miss the full gallery here 👉🏼https://venezuelanalysis.com/images/venezuela-1600-women-discuss-communal-feminism-at-first-national-gathering/ #CommunardUnion#Communes#Feminism