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Escalation of imperialist aggression against Venezuela respond with revolutionar

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument

The article argues that US imperialism, in coordination with regional right-wing governments and the Venezuelan opposition, is orchestrating an escalating campaign to provoke a military coup against the Maduro government. The central claim is that this offensive cannot be defeated through dialogue or conciliation, but only through revolutionary measures that destroy the economic base of the Venezuelan oligarchy — the internal agents of imperialism. The article insists that the only effective defence against imperialist aggression is to expropriate the capitalist class, place the economy under workers' control, and arm the working class.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis is rooted in the Leninist theory of imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism, where the state serves as the executive committee of the ruling class and where rival imperialist powers compete for spheres of influence. The article draws on the Marxist understanding of the state as an instrument of class rule, rejecting the notion that the Venezuelan state can be defended through bourgeois-democratic institutions alone. It also deploys the classical Marxist distinction between the national bourgeoisie (which, in a semi-colonial context, acts as a comprador class serving foreign capital) and the working class as the only consistent anti-imperialist force. The argument sits firmly within the Trotskyist tradition, particularly its insistence that the defence of a workers' state under siege requires breaking with capitalist property relations, not preserving them. The call for workers' militias and revolutionary committees within the armed forces echoes the Bolshevik approach to dual power and the arming of the proletariat.

Conjunctural Relevance

The article was published in February 2018, at a moment of acute crisis for the Maduro government. The specific conjuncture included:

  • Direct threats from Washington: Rex Tillerson's public call for the Venezuelan military to stage a "peaceful transition" and the explicit threat of oil sanctions — a devastating weapon given Venezuela's dependence on oil exports to the US.
  • Regional escalation: Brazil and Colombia announced troop deployments to their borders with Venezuela, citing a "humanitarian crisis" — a pretext the article identifies as cover for military pressure. The Commander of US Southern Command arrived in Colombia the following day.
  • Diplomatic isolation: The Lima Group, an ad hoc body of right-wing Latin American governments, was convened to delegitimise the April 2018 presidential elections, which imperialism knew it could not win through the ballot box.
  • Direct intervention in domestic politics: The US embassy in Caracas openly supported the opposition's withdrawal from talks in the Dominican Republic, and the new US chargé d'affaires, Todd Robinson, declared his intention to "give voice to those who do not have it" — code for organising the oligarchy's return to power.

The article situates these events as the latest phase of a 20-year imperialist offensive against the Bolivarian Revolution, noting the hypocrisy of powers that remained silent on electoral fraud in Honduras and human rights abuses in Colombia and Mexico.

Where the Argument Continues

The article is a tactical intervention at a specific conjuncture, and its argument logically extends in several directions:

  • The question of the Venezuelan state's character: The article treats the Maduro government as a besieged workers' state, but does not develop an analysis of its internal contradictions — the persistence of capitalist relations, the role of the bureaucracy, and the limits of Chavismo as a reformist project. These questions are taken up in other IDOM articles on Venezuela, particularly those analysing the Bonapartist character of the state and the need for a revolutionary party.
  • The strategy for building workers' power: The call for expropriation and workers' control is posed as an immediate necessity, but the article does not address the political preconditions — the level of class consciousness, the state of the trade unions, the relationship between the rank and file and the Chavista bureaucracy. These are developed in broader Marxist texts on the transition to socialism and the role of the revolutionary party.
  • The international dimension: The article appeals for solidarity from workers' organisations across the continent, but does not elaborate a strategy for building a revolutionary international. This connects to the RCI's broader project of constructing a new International, discussed in Against the Stream episodes and IDOM articles on the crisis of the workers' movement.

Connections

  • Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism — the theoretical foundation for understanding the drive toward military intervention and the comprador role of the local bourgeoisie.
  • Trotsky, The Transitional Program — the strategic orientation for combining defensive demands (defence of the workers' state) with transitional demands (expropriation, workers' control, arming the workers).
  • IDOM articles on Venezuela (2014–2018) — particularly those analysing the Bonapartist character of the Maduro government, the role of the military, and the limits of Chavismo as a reformist movement.
  • Against the Stream episodes on Latin America — which develop the analysis of US imperialism's strategy in the region and the tasks of revolutionaries in semi-colonial states.
  • The writings of the Lucha de Clases Marxist Tendency — the Venezuelan sister organisation of the RCI, which produced the original Spanish-language statement on which this article is based.

Key Quotes

  1. "It is clear that US imperialism and its lackey countries have increased aggression against Venezuela in recent weeks. The aim has been declared publicly: to trigger a coup d'etat against the government of President Maduro and allow the capitalist oligarchy to take control again."

  2. "Both the opposition and imperialism understand it will be very difficult to win in the presidential elections, and have therefore launched a campaign of escalation of imperialist pressure to delegitimize, and in the process overthrow, the government by provoking a military coup."

  3. "To combat this threat effectively, it is necessary to take serious measures that destroy the base of imperialism within the country. We must begin by expropriating all the properties of multinational companies in the US and putting them under workers' control."

  4. "The economic base of the oligarchy, which supports imperialism, must be destroyed, and working people given democratic control over the economy."

  5. "The best way to guarantee the unity of the working people in the fight against imperialist aggression is to resolve the shortages and the devaluation of the wages."

  6. "The imperialist aggression cannot be faced with calls for peace and dialogue, but with revolutionary measures to crush the economic power of the oligarchy that acts as an agent of Washington."