© Nathaniel St. Clair
The US-sponsored coup in Venezuela, still ongoing as I write, is the latest chapter in the long and bloody history of US imperialism in Latin America. This basic fact, understood by most across the left of the political spectrum - including even the chattering liberal class which acknowledges this truth only with the passage of time and never in the moment - must undergird any analysis of the situation in Venezuela today. That is to say, the country is being targeted by the Yanqui Empire.
This point is, or at least should be, indisputable irrespective of one's opinions of Venezuelan President Maduro, the Socialist Party (PSUV), or the progress of the Bolivarian Revolution. Imperialism, and its neocolonial manifestation in the 21
st Century, is there to pick clean the bones of the Bolivarian dream and return Venezuela to the role of subservient asset, an oil-soaked proxy state ruled by a right-wing satrap eager to please the colonial lords of capital.
But in providing analysis of the situation, the Left must tread carefully with the knowledge that though it may be weak, disorganized, fragmented, and bitterly sectarian, the Left remains the principal vehicle for cogent analysis of imperialism and its machinations. This historic role that the Left has played, from Lenin and Mao to Hobsbawm and Chomsky, is of critical importance as analysis informs discourse which in turn ossifies into historical narrative.
And with that weighty and historic responsibility, the Left is duty-bound to understand at a deep level what we're witnessing in Venezuela. Moreover, the Left must beware the pitfalls of shallow, superficial analysis which can lead to poor understanding of material reality, and even poorer anti-imperialist politics.
Comment: Brennan is just bitter and still sore from Trump revoking his clearance. He'll throw around any accusation he can muster. We would all be wise to simply ignore him.
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