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Video Oppose the imperialist coup détat in Venezuela

Marxist Theory · 2019-01-25

Core Argument

The central thesis is that the events unfolding in Venezuela in January 2019 constitute an imperialist coup d'état, not a democratic uprising. Jorge Martín argues that the self-proclamation of Juan Guaidó as "interim president" is a coordinated attempt by US imperialism, backed by regional right-wing governments (Bolsonaro in Brazil, Duque in Colombia, and the OAS under Almagro), to overturn the legitimate, elected government of Nicolás Maduro. The article insists that socialists must oppose this coup unconditionally, not on the basis of loyalty to the Maduro government as such, but because the alternative is a return to a brutal neoliberal regime that would crush the working class. The claim is that the opposition's strategy — bypassing elections, ignoring the constitution, and relying on foreign military threats — reveals its true character as a counter-revolutionary force, not a democratic movement.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis is grounded in the Leninist theory of imperialism, particularly the understanding that the advanced capitalist states will use any means — including military intervention, economic sanctions, and the manipulation of domestic opposition — to prevent the emergence of independent, anti-imperialist states that threaten their spheres of influence. The article draws on the Marxist tradition of distinguishing between genuine working-class democracy (soviets, mass mobilisation) and bourgeois parliamentary forms, arguing that the Venezuelan opposition's invocation of "democracy" is hypocritical given its reliance on extra-constitutional means and its open alignment with Washington. There is also an implicit reliance on Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution: the Venezuelan process is understood as a bourgeois-democratic revolution that, because of the weakness of the national bourgeoisie and the hostility of imperialism, can only be carried through by the working class. The article therefore rejects the "lesser evil" framework that would see socialists supporting the opposition against Maduro, and instead calls for independent working-class action.

Conjunctural Relevance

The article was published on 25 January 2019, at the height of the immediate crisis following Guaidó's self-proclamation on 23 January. The conjuncture is defined by several concrete factors: the Trump administration's open support for the coup, including threats of military intervention; the role of the Lima Group and the OAS in legitimising Guaidó; the collapse of oil prices and the devastating impact of US sanctions on the Venezuelan economy; and the deep internal crisis of the PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela), which had become increasingly bureaucratic and corrupt. The article situates the Venezuelan crisis within a broader regional shift to the right, following the defeats of progressive governments in Brazil (impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, election of Bolsonaro) and Argentina (election of Macri). It also notes the role of the European Union and Canada in supporting the coup, demonstrating that this is not a unilateral US action but a coordinated imperialist offensive.

Where the Argument Continues

This article is a short, agitational video description, not a developed theoretical analysis. The argument continues in several longer IDOM articles from the same period, particularly those examining the economic roots of the Venezuelan crisis (the over-reliance on oil rents, the failure to break with capitalism internally) and the political strategy of the Venezuelan left. The broader corpus includes analyses of the Bolivarian Revolution's trajectory, the role of the military in the Venezuelan state, and the need for a revolutionary workers' party as an alternative to both the PSUV and the bourgeois opposition. Readers should also consult IDOM's coverage of the 2017 constituent assembly, the 2018 presidential election, and the subsequent attempts at dialogue between the government and the opposition. The argument about the need for independent working-class organisation in Venezuela is developed further in Against the Stream episodes dealing with the Latin American left.

Connections

This article should be read alongside Lenin's Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism for the theoretical framework, and Trotsky's The Permanent Revolution for the strategic implications. Within the IDOM corpus, it connects to analyses of the US-backed coups in Honduras (2009), Paraguay (2012), and Brazil (2016), which the Marxist tradition identifies as a pattern of "soft coups" or "parliamentary coups" designed to remove left-leaning governments without direct military invasion. It also connects to the broader Marxist debate on Bonapartism and the state form in Latin America, particularly the question of whether the Venezuelan state under Maduro remains a bourgeois state with a progressive foreign policy or has the potential to be transformed into a workers' state. The article implicitly rejects the "socialism of the 21st century" framework associated with Heinz Dieterich and Marta Harnecker, which the RCI has criticised as reformist and utopian.

Key Quotes

  1. "What is happening in Venezuela is an imperialist coup d'état. The US government, together with its allies in the region, is trying to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nicolás Maduro."

  2. "The opposition is not fighting for democracy. It is fighting to return Venezuela to the neoliberal policies of the past, to privatise the oil industry, and to destroy the social gains that the working class has made."

  3. "Socialists must oppose the imperialist coup unconditionally. We do not defend the Maduro government because it is perfect, but because the alternative is a return to a brutal capitalist regime that will attack the living standards of the working class."

  4. "The only way forward for the Venezuelan working class is to build its own independent political organisation, a revolutionary party that can fight for a genuine workers' government, not a choice between two variants of capitalism."

  5. "Trump, Bolsonaro, and Almagro are not interested in democracy. They are interested in controlling Venezuela's oil reserves and reversing the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution."

  6. "The Venezuelan crisis is a product of the contradictions of capitalism and imperialism. It cannot be solved by supporting one bourgeois faction against another, but only by the working class taking power into its own hands."