English

Chávez The Radical I: “We Look Like Fools Giving the State’s Dollars to the Bourgeoisie”
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Chávez The Radical I: “We Look Like Fools Giving the State’s Dollars to the Bourgeoisie”

Chávez sought a new economic path on which Venezuela would overcome two economic legacies: domination by the capitalist oligarchy internally, and oil dependence linked to imperialism externally. In Chávez The Radical I, he proposes a state company to manage all exports, imports, and currency exchange. This policy would help reduce the power of domestic capitalists…

Chávez The Radical III: “There will be no «Cozying Up» with the Venezuelan Oligarchy”
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Chávez The Radical III: “There will be no «Cozying Up» with the Venezuelan Oligarchy”

Chávez The Radical III calls on Venezuelans to continue their historical legacy of rebellion against oligarchic rule. Chávez highlights the active role played by enslaved and oppressed Venezuelans in nineteenth-century liberation struggles, from the fight against Spanish rule to the landless peasants’ rebellion. Taking up arms – rifles, machetes, farm tools, or any other weapon…

Chávez The Radical IV: We Should be Radical (English version)
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Chávez The Radical IV: We Should be Radical (English version)

Defenders of the status quo cast radicals as naive dreamers, anti-social disruptors, or even irrational extremists – anything to discredit and derail radical movements for change. In reality, radicalism is about digging to the root of things and finding their essential nature. The dominant classes seek to obscure the roots of their illegitimate privilege because…

Chávez The Radical VIII: Every Revolution Needs the Whip of the Counterrevolution (English version)
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Chávez The Radical VIII: Every Revolution Needs the Whip of the Counterrevolution (English version)

In Chávez The Radical VIII, President Chávez recounts the incalculable damage wrought by the oil industry sabotage and military coup of 2002. That coup was facilitated by a practice we continue to see today: the deliberate manipulation of images by the corporate media to create the illusion that pro-Chávez demonstrators were firing upon peaceful opposition…

Chávez The Radical VII: “The Socialist Revolution Must Be Feminist” (English version)
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Chávez The Radical VII: “The Socialist Revolution Must Be Feminist” (English version)

In Chávez The Radical VII, President Chávez reiterates his assertion that the Bolivarian Revolution is feminist. This declaration does not mean that the oppression of women has been eradicated from Venezuela; it highlights that the revolution has advanced gender equality in several concrete ways, while reinvigorating dialogue about the ways that sexism persists in Venezuelan…

Chávez The Radical IX: The Battle to Convince (English version)
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Chávez The Radical IX: The Battle to Convince (English version)

Last Sunday, Venezuelans initiated the process of rewriting their constitution through democratically elected representatives. The final document will be subject to a nation-wide up or down vote. This process, enshrined in the 1999 constitution written after Chavez was elected, virtually unparalleled in democracies worldwide, presents an opportunity for the Venezuelan people to breathe life into…

Chávez The Radical X: No More Privatizations (English version)
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Chávez The Radical X: No More Privatizations (English version)

Venezuelans will soon democratically elect an assembly to re-write their constitution. Although the mainstream media cast it as a political ploy, the referendum holds the potential to re-energize political participation and open avenues for social movements to contribute to a dialogue on how to resolve the current crisis, at a time when polls show three…

Chávez The Radical II (English version)
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Chávez The Radical II (English version)

Hugo Chávez always sought to make the Venezuelan government more participatory and inclusive of all Venezuelans. This required him to take away privileges and power from the elites of the old regime, who had led the country into a miserable economic crisis and political collapse in the 1990s. Early in his presidency, a democratically elected…