Listen: Communes, the rural and the urban, and the shadows of bureaucratization (Authors of “Venezuela, The Present as Struggle” on Cosmonaut)

On this recent spot on Cosmonaut, Chris Gilbert and Cira Pascual Marquina, authors of Venezuela, The Present as Struggle: Voices from the Bolivarian Revolution cover the history of the Bolivarian revolution from its origins as a reaction against the neoliberal adjustments in the late 80s, through the electoral victory up to the declaration of the revolution as socialist in 2006. They discuss communes in both urban and rural settings, and their role in the transition to socialism, the questions around oil and the economy, the economic problems of the revolution, the shadows of bureaucratization, the differences between the cities and the countryside and possible way forward for the revolution.