[TEASER] Venezuela Pt. 1: A Socialist Introduction w/ Vijay Prashad

Sep 2, 2025

Vijay Prashad, a renowned journalist and Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, dives into Venezuela's tumultuous history and politics. He highlights the profound impact of U.S. sanctions on the nation's oil-dependent economy, debunking misconceptions around socialism. The conversation shifts to the Bolivarian Revolution and its promises of sovereignty, revealing how Venezuela's oil wealth was redirected towards education and healthcare. Prashad illuminates the socio-political changes that emerged from these policies and their significance in the fight against imperialism.

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INSIGHT

Crisis Blamed On Blockade

Prashad argues the crisis stems from a U.S. financial blockade rather than socialism itself.
He frames sanctions and blockade as the primary cause of Venezuela's economic collapse.

INSIGHT

Oil Wealth Without Public Control

Venezuela sat on enormous oil reserves yet remained poor due to exploitative contracts and extraction by foreign oil companies.
That external control drained public finances and forced repeated IMF interventions.

ANECDOTE

From Failed Coup To Mass Movement

Prashad recounts Chávez's 1992 failed coup and his pivot to mass politics, leading to the 1998 electoral victory.
Chávez converted a military setback into sustained popular mobilization and eventual presidency.

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In Part 1 of our new, ongoing series on Venezuela, Vijay Prashad joins us to discuss Venezuela’s history, politics, and its ongoing fight against US imperialism. Vijay Prashad is a journalist, political commentator, and Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He’s the author of many books, including The Darker Nations, Washington Bullets: The History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations, and Red Star Over the Third World.

In this episode, we discuss Venezuela's political and economic conditions prior to the Bolivarian Revolution of 1999 when Hugo Chávez came to power. We discuss how oil colonialism kept Venezuela in a state of underdevelopment and poverty. Vijay tells us about the promise of the Bolivarian Revolution and how it was delivered, the obstacles that Venezuela continues to face in its fight against imperialism, the hybrid war of coup attempts, sanctions, and propaganda campaigns imposed by the US, what socialism in Venezuela actually looks like, the most recent escalation by the Trump administration, and much more.

Further resources:

Tricontinental's work on Venezuela
Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations, by Vijay Prashad
The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, by Seth Harp
The Politics of Heroin:CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, by Alfred W. McCoy

Related episodes:

Artwork: Political Repression in Latin America Poster printed by La Raza Silkscreen, 1975.

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