Luis Fernando Marquez says that "recuperating sovereignty and control over our resources is essential". But he gives no indication of how to do this.
Venezuela is subject to a US naval blockade. In December and January, US forces took control of 9 ships containing oil being exported from Venezuela. The US stole the oil and put the money from oil sales in a US-controlled bank account. The blockade continues. Oil exports can occur only with US approval. No oil can be sent to China, which was previously Venezuela's main customer. Oil can only be sent to US-approved customers, and the revenue is paid into US-controlled accounts. How should the Venezuelan government respond? It seems to me that there are 3 choices. Venezuela could try to defy the blockade. It could put soldiers on oil tankers with instructions to shoot at US troops attempting to board the ship. In response, the US would probably bomb the ship and renew its bombing of Venezuela. Venezuela could also fire missiles and send drones to attack US warships enforcing the blockade. The US would respond with massive bombardment of Venezuela. Another alternative would be to cease all oil exports until such time as the US ended the blockade. This would mean that Venezuela's oil industry would largely close down, and the government would lose the oil revenue that funds government services. The third alternative is the one chosen by the Delcy Rodriguez government, which makes big concessions and talks politely to US government officials in the hope that they will allow some revenue from oil sales to go to the Venezuelan government. This is obviously a very bad situation. But Marquez gives no real indication of what he thinks should be done. Left critics of the Rodriguez government have little support. Marquez says: "But, for now, apart from sporadic and isolated opposition activities that have attracted few participants, there have been no mobilisations. The calls for mobilisation issued by certain political sectors have not yet connected with the people". If critics of the Delcy Rodriguez government have no answer to the question of how to respond to the blockade, it is not surprising that they are ignored by most people. However, there are mobilisations in Venezuela. These are the demonstrations calling for the freedom of Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores. These are mobilisations in defence of Venezuela's national sovereignty, which has been attacked by the US kidnapping of its president. There are many other things I could criticise in the interview. Marquez talks of "countless episodes of violence" under the Maduro government, failing to mention the role of the right-wing opposition in instigating violence. He talks of "the neoliberal policies imposed by the Chávez and Maduro governments over more than two decades", which is strange, given the way in which Chavez used oil revenue to bring free health and education to poor areas. Marquez cites an opinion poll that supposedly shows 78 percent support for Maria Corina Machado, ignoring the notorious unreliability of opinion polls in Venezuela. Chris Slee ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Fred Fuentes via groups.io <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, 30 March 2026 10:08 AM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [marxmail] Venezuelan leftist: ‘Recuperating sovereignty and control over our resources is essential’ Confusion and concern have followed the rapid pace of events in Venezuela after the US military incursion on January 3. Since then, the Venezuelan government has started to open its oil and mineral industries to transnational corporations, while there has been a constant parade of US officials and military leaders through the country. How should we interpret these events? Federico Fuentes, from LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal, spoke with Venezuelan leftist Luis Fernando Marquez, a National Agrarian Alliance founding organiser and Alliance for Sovereignty and Democracy activist, about developments in the country, the people’s reactions and challenges for the left. https://links.org.au/venezuelan-leftist-recuperating-sovereignty-and-control-over-our-resources-essential -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41302): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41302 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118571231/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
