In this episode, I’m joined by scholars Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert, coauthors of Venezuela, The Present as Struggle: Voices from the Bolivarian Revolution (Monthly Review Press, 2020), to discuss the history and current situation of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution. Situating our discussion in the context of escalating imperialist attacks against Venezuela’s socialist project, this wide-ranging conversation explores the relationship between state power and grassroots organization, the role of communes in Venezuelan socialism, and how the Chavista grassroots has mobilized to defend the Bolivarian Revolution against U.S. sanctions and imperialist aggression.
About the show:
Return to Bandung is hosted by Pranay Somayajula, an Indian-American writer, researcher, and organizer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work explores themes of diaspora, (inter)nationalism, anticolonial politics, and the many lives and afterlives of empire. You can learn more about Pranay and read his writing on his website, as well as on his Substack blog, culture shock.
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Sources and helpful links:
Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert — Venezuela, The Present as Struggle: Voices from the Bolivarian Revolution (Monthly Review Press, 2020)
Chris Gilbert — Commune or Nothing!: Venezuela’s Communal Movement and its Socialist Project (Monthly Review Press, 2023)
Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert (eds.) — Communes and Socialist Construction (Monthly Review July-August 2025 Special Issue)
Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs — Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela (Center for Economic and Policy Research, April 2019)
Francisco Rodriguez — How Sanctions Contributed to Venezuela’s Economic Collapse (Global Americans, January 2023)
Nick Estes — Empire, Colonialism and Solidarity (interview with Venezuelanalysis, August 2025)
Pino Arlacchi — The Great Hoax Against Venezuela: Oil Geopolitics Disguised as ‘War on Drugs’ (Venezuelanalysis, September 2025)
Communal (and Working Class) Resistance — Venezuelanalysis interview series with grassroots participants in the Bolivarian Revolution
Gregory Wilpert — Changing Venezuela by Taking Power: The History and Policies of the Chavez Government (Verso, 2007)
Hugo Chavez — Speech to the United Nations General Assembly (September 2011)
Social links:
Return to Bandung:
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Pranay Somayajula:
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Website: https://www.pranaysomayajula.com/
Substack: https://www.culture-shock.xyz/
Venezuelanalysis:
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