Several posters in this very thread seem to view Marudo, whose legitimacy flows entirely from the military and armed gangs, as a legitimate President. They made posts to express their unhappiness with the “coup” against Marudo. They felt that America should pursue a policy of strict neutrality, which would have supported the side with access to food and tanks.
You were one of them.
You’re lucky its limited to this thread. My UK party forums are full of pseudo-revolutionaries ripping open their shirts and tearfully declaring they will join Maduro in a fight to the death with the Americans. I’m linking some of the giant, offshore money laundering networks the Bolivarians have created to steal the wealth and having fun with the cadres as they try to dream up legitimate socialist reasons for having a giant money laundering networks, and things like private jets and Miami mansions.
Mostly the British left it seems (e.g. Owen Jones), but I had to tease that out with some Google fu so in that respect he should have been more clear.
If I’m complaining that equating the view that America should not interfere in Venezuela with endorsing Maduro is a shameful thing to do, you repeating the equation doesn’t do much to explain it.
The UK hard left will support any opponent of the USA. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Venezuela links go back a long time. Ken Livingstone bought Venezuelan fuel for London buses back in the day. Cuba too. Russia, Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Hussein, Gadaffi, anyone who opposes the USA, UK, Israel or NATO is their friend, no matter their crimes.
A senior Labour advisor, the man who wrote a chunk of the Labour manifesto, Andrew Murray is a “former” Communist Party senior member who is on record as declaring solidarity and support for the DPRK (only a few years ago) and is currently banned from travelling to Ukraine because he published anti-Ukrainian, pro-Putin propaganda on behalf of Moscow.
Murray is also pushing “Deep State” theories, much like Putins puppets do in the US.
Labour leaderships backbench proxy, Chris Williamson, another of the “anti-Imperialists” has been pushing a pro-Maduro narrative all week. The hard left alt media proxies, Skwarkbox, Canary, Voxpoliticsonline etc have also been pushing Maduro propaganda solidly.
Here’s a better piece, an interview with a former minister of Ecuador that illustrates the situation is much more nuanced then the shallow coverage given Venezuela by the US media. (As you live in South American you might already know all this, but I didn’t.)
The regime in Venezuela had been friendly with a bunch of leftist parties in Europe, back when oil was 100€ and the King of Spain told Chavez to shut up. It cultivated those relationships, and many in Europe truthfully or because of their patronage proclaimed Chavismo as a new way for socialism.
Then the money dried up, but I guess there’s still some good will or maybe just a reflective Oppose everything the US / West / Capitalists do…
It’s a good, thoughtful piece. Guillaume Long is one of the least tainted members of the Correa government, though he seems to remain a Correa loyalist, at least with respect to how he has responded to Correa’s successor, Moreno.
Politics here seem to waver back and forth between regimes of the right, where bankers engage in corruption and loot the public coffers and the poor starve; and regimes of the left, where elected socialists engage in corruption and loot the public coffers while managing to improve the lot of the poor.
I see Moreno here in Ecuador as the anti-Maduro, someone who managed to take over from a Chavez-like figure and is trying to steer the country back toward a kind if normality, e.g. joining trade agreements with the EU, prosecuting corrupt politicians including former Correa government officials, etc.
Representing Guaido’s actions as a “Us-backed coup” - and thereby equating them with the US’s shameful and storied history of backing military coups and pseudo-popular revolutions, is problematic.
It seems more like a popular revolution/coup that has been backed by the US, Canada, EU, most South American states. When you choose (as those letter writers did) to only mention Trump and Bolsanaro as backers that is a choice, and it is a choice made for the purpose of strengthening the perception of Maduro.
Should the US stay out of Venezuela? Of course it should. But that doesn’t mean that the people who signed that letter are not clearly indicating that they view Guaido’s attempted revolution as illegitimate.
Yet they do not say that they view Guaidó’s attempted revolution as illegitimate, do they? Instead, you impute that view to them without having, as far as I can tell, any evidence to that effect.
As to the US’s role, I’m sure we’ll learn more as time passes. I’m skeptical that Guaidó climbed out on that limb without encouragement, and the Trump administration is doing all they can to feed that skepticism.
Good background piece on the machinations that spurred Guaidó to act.
Former Spy Chief and member of Maduro’s party breaks with Madura and joins the opposition.
Something like 82% of the population was against Maduro when Guaido stepped up iirc.
So this is a convoy that is just trying to get out of that hellhole?
Nice.
BBC is reporting:
* the aid convoy coming in, not the bus (of whatever) going out above
I can’t tell from reporting/pictures who is GNB, and who other military/police, and who is Maduro loyal and who is defecting from what group. Sometimes they have the right hat, other times I have just no idea. But … the border tensions seem to at a minimum be creating more fractures in the military support. My guess would be rank and file vs officers.
I’ve always figured this will come down to the (Venezuelan) military. Maduro already gave them the food for loyalty (while back). Which works as realpolitik but creates more resentment as it is corrupt and from that last link, it looks like he’s had to keep handing them things for loyalty ever since…