Communes' Role in Defense and Governance

This is a free preview of the episode "Venezuela Pt. 4: The Empire vs. Venezuela w/ Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza and Saheli Chowdhury." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/upstreampodcast

As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to make Upstream a weekly show, and it will also give you access to our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes along with stickers and bumper stickers at certain subscription tiers. You'll also be helping to keep Upstream sustainable and allowing us to keep this project going.

In Part 4 of our ongoing series on Venezuela, Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza and Saheli Chowdhury of Orinoco Tribune join us to discuss the US empire's attacks on Venezuela—both historically and into the present. Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza is an expert in international relations, Venezuelan politics, and communications and is the founding editor of Orinoco Tribune. Saheli Chowdhury is from West Bengal, India. She's studying physics as a profession and has interests in history and global movements. Saheli is a co-editor of Orinoco Tribune, an independent media outlet that provides news and analysis from Venezuela, Latin America, and the Global South. 

Our conversation begins with an update on the latest escalations of aggression by the United States before presenting a brief history of US aggression against Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution more broadly. We then discuss the grassroots and institutional response in Venezuela, including the role that the communes play in resisting US empire. We talk about María Corina Machado and the Venezuelan far right more broadly and the role they play in advancing the interests of the United States and transnational corporations. We talk about the geopolitical context of all of this, the war on drugs, and much more. 

Further resources:

• Orinoco Tribune
• Support Orinoco Tribune's progressive, anti-imperialist news analysis
• The Empire vs. Venezuela: "War on Drugs" Chapter (Critical Theory Workshop)

Related episodes:

• Listen to our ongoing series on Venezuela
• Listen to our ongoing series on China
• Migration as Economic Imperialism w/ Immanuel Ness
• Iran Pt. 1: A Socialist Introduction w/ Séamus Malekafzali
• Our ongoing series on China
• Our ongoing series on the Alliance of Sahel States

Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.